The brightest star in Slytherin
by Pheonex from a Black Fire
Summary: When Harry learns he is a wizard he also learns of his twin. Lyra. So what happens when she arrives at Hogwarts, only to be sorted into Slytherin house? How does she know Blaise and Malfoy? And what else could possibly go wrong?
1. Prologue

**Ok so I'm redoing this story, for those of you who hung on from when I first wrote this, I than you. As far as this chapter goes, I don't think that many changes were made. And most of them are in Lyra's first letter. **

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><p>Prologue.<p>

"Yer a wizard Harry."

"I'm a what?"

"A wizard. A thumpin good un' I'd wager, once yer trained up a bit. Now, I reckon its abou' time yeh read yer letters."

Harry reached out and took the two yellow envelopes from the giant's hand. The first one was the same one that had been sent so many times with that same crazy accurate addressing in emerald green ink. The second was one he hadn't seen before. It was written in a byzantium purple ink, and addressed simply: _Harry James Potter. _

Hagrid tapped the first letter. "I sugges' reading this one firs'. Less of a shock."

Confused he did as he was told. The letter's contents said that he had been accepted to a school called Hogwarts. It was a school for magic. It wasn't that long. After reading that one he hesitantly opened the second letter. The hand writing was elegant calligraphy.

_Dear Harry,_

_ If you're reading this, then you've been given your Hogwarts letter and have been told about the magical world. I sent this letter enclosed in another to the headmaster of your new school. I asked him to have this given to you after you were told of our world. I know that, seeing as you have been living with our non-magical aunt and uncle you wouldn't know about me. And yes I said _our_. My name is Lyra Lark Potter. I'm your sister. Your fraternal twin to be more specific._

_ As I said, I know you have no prior knowledge of me, but I have always known of you, as unfair as that is. But you see, I was sent away, to live with a wizarding family. Because you see, I have an odd sort of... condition, that muggles wouldn't know how to hide or handle. So I was sent to America, where I could safely live with a wizarding family. You on the other hand, stayed in England with our muggle relatives. I know this seems unfair, but there was a reason. It's because Voldemort's followers may have come looking for us._

_ Which brings me to another topic. A very sad and hard to write about topic. My dearest brother, I don't know what you were told of our parents' death; but I doubt it was the truth. Our mother and father were killed by a dark wizard, called Lord Voldemort. He came to our home in Godric's Hollow on Halloween night, ten years ago. They died protecting us from him._

_ But here's the strange part Harry. He tried to kill us to. But by some miracle, we lived. We survived the killing curse. That's how you got that scar of yours. I don't know where yours is, but mine is on my shoulder, near my neck. These scars aren't ordinary, they come from being touched by dark magic... and living._

_ I know that this is a lot to take in my dear twin, and I'm sorry that had to tell you all this in a letter. I wish I could be in front of you telling you face to face, but you know how oceans are, always getting in the way._

_ I hope that you understand just how much I want to know you. Please, contact me. When you are at Hogwarts, if you want to send me a letter, give it to Professor Dumbledore. He'll get it to me. As I myself, will be going to a school in Massachusetts._

_ All happy wishes from_

_ Your sister, Lyra_

Inside the envelope was a moving picture of a girl Harry's age. She had black curly hair, and calculating almond shaped eyes that were the same shocking green that his were. On the juncture between her shoulder and her neck was a lightning bolt shaped scar, just like his.

Harry's eyes teared up as he looked at the face of the sister he never knew.

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><p>Lyra was walking outside with her new-found friend Sarah Burke when a large bird, with beautiful red and gold plumage, landed in a nearby tree.<p>

"Wha- Lyra! Is that a phoenix?"

Lyra looked closely at it. "Ya it is.." she said in a tone that was both surprised and bored. But upon further inspection, she realized that the creature was carrying an envelope in it's beak. _ There is only one wizard I can think of whom might have a bird as magnificent as this one as a companion. _The young witch held out her arm to the bird. Immediately the creature flew to her.

Dimly, she heard her friend blabbering excitedly, but she was focused on the letter hanging from the phoenix's beak. In an untidy black-inked scrawl, was her name.

The dark haired eleven year old took the envelope and ripped it open, quickly pulling out the letter.

_Dear Lyra,_

_ I was and still am shocked by all this. And your letter. Even though I feel like I should be angry for you having been kept from me, all I can feel is the hole in my life healing up a bit. It's so good to know about you Lyra. My sister, my twin._

_ Thank you for the picture by the way. You're really pretty. I wish I could see you in person. But I suppose that for now letters will do._

_ Hogwarts is so amazing. I love all the magic. It's incredible! I'm jealous that you got to grow up with this stuff. My favorite class is easily defense against the dark arts. But the teacher for that class is a stuttering wizard whom seems to be afraid of his very shadow. Ironic isn't it?_

_ Speaking of teachers, my transfiguration teacher, Professor McGonagall, is really cool, she can turn herself into a silver tabby cat at will. I wish I could do that._

_ Is it weird that I have no idea what to say in this letter?_

_ Your brother, Harry_

Enclosed was a picture of an eleven year old boy with jet black hair that was sticking up at the back. He had glasses and warm almond shaped eyes that were the same green that hers were. On his forehead was a lightning bolt scar, just like hers.

Lyra smiled at the picture of her estranged brother.

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><p>Harry yawned as he sat down at breakfast with Ron. It was going to be a long day. They had double potions with the Slytherins today. And on top of that he was getting anxious about his sister. He had given the headmaster his letter a week ago. But luckily this afternoon's flying lesson was sure to lighten his mood.<p>

He was a bit disappointed that he hadn't gotten a reply from his sister. He hadn't told anyone about her for some reason. Just as his thoughts were wandering to his mysterious sister, the owls swooped in delivering that days mail. And as usual, the sounds of hooting owls and rustling paper filled the large hall.

He was shocked however when the sound of screeching of some kind of bird sounded. Everyone in the hall looked up to find the source of the sound. When Harry found the unusual bird, flying above Gryffindor, he was more than surprised to see it flying towards him.

When it landed in front of him, he realized that it was a hawk. It looked intelligent, and cunning. The bird held a letter in its beak, with a familiar purple inked calligraphy on it. Harry hesitantly took the letter from the bird, which then proceeded to hop up onto his shoulder. Opening the letter, Harry was relieved to find that it was indeed another letter from Lyra.

_Harry,_

_ I was ever so glad when I got your last letter. And in response to your question, no it isn't weird. Just because we're twins doesn't mean that we automatically know each other. It's going to be like talking to a total stranger for the first few times. So it's understandable._

_ Thank you for the picture, you aren't half bad yourself. _

_ By the way, did you know that Dumbledore has a phoenix? It delivered your letter. It was really cool._

_ And I'm glad that you are enjoying yourself. How're you doing relating to the other students? I know that there will be muggle borns there, and they'll understand your up bringing, but what about the ones who grew up with magic? They would call themselves purebloods._

_ Also, I had an idea for our letters, we can take turns asking questions about each other. That way we have something to fill out letters with, and we get to learn about each other. _

_ You don't have to give Dumbledore your letter this time. Just give it to Zephyr. He'll know where to take it. But be sure to give him a day or two to rest. Keep in mind that he flew across the Atlantic._

_ Lyra _

The school year went by like this. Both of the twins exchanging letters. Sometimes with Zephyr, other times with Hedwig. Until the school year ended, and the summer holiday began. And the letter that Lyra had wanted to send for months, finally arrived in the Dursley home.

It was Saturday when Zephyr flew through the window onto the breakfast table.

Aunt Petunia screamed, and uncle Vernon roared in fury, his salt and pepper mustache bristling. Dudley, the fat oaf that he is just stared in shock at the magnificent bird standing in his grapefruit.

Harry jumped up excitedly. His sister had finally replied to his letter! It was July fifth and he hadn't had contact from anyone since school had been released. But he was disappointed upon opening the parchment. For the letter was unusually short.

_Be at the London airport at noon on July seventeenth. Gate 32. Incoming flight from Washington D C. And tell our dear aunt and uncle that if they do not pick me up, I will not only set Zephyr on them, but I will transform our lovely cousin into the pig that he is._

_**ANONYMOUS REVEIWS ARE ACCEPTED!**_


	2. Foxtrot

**Hey readers, here's the next revised chapter some key points have been modified, but other than that, just a bit of hedge trimming**

Foxtrot

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><p>"This sister of yours had better be right there. I'm not about to go looking for her." My uncle snapped. I rolled my eyes. He had been complaining since my sister's letter had arrived.<p>

When the car stopped, I was out and running into the building. I had never been to the airport so I had to stop and ask for directions. I ended up getting to the gate early, so I had to wait until the plane's occupants were allowed off. By the time that had happened, my uncle had joined me.

I stood there anxiously as exiting passengers came through. Impatient, I climbed up onto one of the chairs trying to find a dark haired girl amongst the throng.

I gasped when I saw her. She was real.

Lyra was looking around trying to find me, I ran over to her but when I reached her I was a bit hesitant. I had no clue what to do. Hug her? Shake her hand?

She grinned at me. "Harry."

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><p>He looked just like his picture. Dark hair, glasses, green eyes, the whole bit. Seeing him was so surreal. I hadn't expected this level of awkwardness, though.<p>

"Harry" and just like that the awkward bubble that surrounded us was popped. He pulled me in to a bear hug which I returned.

"It's good to finally see you."

The car ride to my Aunt and Uncle's was a bit awkward. Seeing as my uncle was seething. He clearly didn't like me any more than he liked Harry. My brother and I sat in the back the whole time. And it was dead silent. But even so, I couldn't stop grinning like the Cheshire cat.

When we finally got there, Harry and I grabbed my black duffel bag and green book bag. He made a face at the latter when I handed it to him to carry. "What?"

He shrugged. "Green's Slytherin's color. I'm a Gryffindor. The two houses are rivals."

"Um... what?"

He blinked confusedly for a moment before it dawned on him that I had no idea what he was talking about. He shook his head. "I'll explain later." he said, shouldering the item. I nodded and followed him into the small suburban home where he led me upstairs. "Aunt Petunia said that you can have the guest room." he said, walking into a rather plain bedroom.

I looked around and threw my duffel onto the bed. "So where's Zephyr?" I said. I missed my friend and familiar.

"Umm..."

I felt a tingle of panic. "Where's Zephyr, Harry."

"Our uncle locked him in with Hedwig in her cage."

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><p>Upon telling my sister that her hawk was in a locked cage, her eyes grew dark with fury. I saw her get shorter and her hair was spreading to her face, getting lighter until a fox was standing before me. If I had never seen McGonagall do this, I would have been far more shocked than I was. She bolted from the room, and I heard her go down the stairs. I ran after her, arriving just in time to see her morph back into a human, standing face to face with Vernon. Her anger matching his, whenever he was truly angry. "Where is it?"<p>

Surprised, he just looked at her incredulously. "What are you talking about?"

"The key you idiot! Where is the key to Hedwig's cage!"

Now he was angry. Realizing what she was asking. "I have no reason to tell you! I will not let Harry send secret messages to those freaky little friends of his!" spittle flying across the room.

Lyra was absolutely red in the face. "THAT DOSEN'T MEAN LOCK UP MY HAWK! YOU IDIOTIC MAN! GIVE ME THE DAMN KEY!"

Our uncle glared at her coldly. "You are in our home, girl, and I suggest you act a little more politely or -"

"OR WHAT? YOU'LL THROW ME OUT? NICE TRY BUT NO! GIVE ME THE KEY!"

I walked over to her and grabbed her arm, and dragged her out of the room. With her yelling at me the whole way. I dragged her up to my room and made her sit at the desk's chair. When she entered the room, there was an exited squawk from Zephyr. She immediately walked over to the cage and stroked his wing through the bars.

"You can't win an argument against him. If you were Dudley, maybe, but he hates us. So dose our aunt."

She glared at the floor. "I hate them right back. Zeph's never even been in a cage before this! Even in the pet shop where I got him at he was free range."

I nodded. "Ya, he bit uncle several times as he was being forced into the cage."

She smiled sadly at the creature. "That's my bud."

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><p>For the next two weeks Harry and I generally stayed out of the way, often hanging out in his room with our bird companions. We talked and got to know each other more. Today the topic was the sorcerer's stone fiasco.<p>

"Wait, so your saying he can come _back?_"

Harry nodded gravely. "Ya, it was really weird.. but that's what Dumbledore said."

Several images flashed through my mind. Green lights, screaming, crying, pain in my neck. I shivered. "That's freaky."

"POTTER!"

"Damn. Lyra I forgot to tell you, uncle Vernon is having one of his associates or whatever over for dinner tonight. When we go downstairs, follow my lead."

We went downstairs and quickly ate a meager dinner, and were then sent upstairs and told to stay quiet. When we re-entered Harry's bedroom, he went to sit on the bed. The problem was that there was already someone sitting on it.

I managed not to shout out but it was a close call. The little creature had large, bat-like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls. It was wearing an old, stained pillowcase and I knew instantly what this was. "A house elf.."

The elf slipped off the bed and bowed so low that the tip of it's long, thin nose touched the carpet.

"Er – hello." Harry said oddly.

The elf spoke. "Harry Potter!" he said in a rather high pitched voice. "So long has Dobby longed to meet you, sir. Such an honor it is..." he said bowing again.

"Th-thank you."

I glanced at my twin from the corner of my eye. "Um, look, I'm not trying to be rude, Dobby, did you say your name was? But this isn't the best time for my brother to have a house elf in his bedroom."

"Brother? So you are the long lost Lyra! It is an honor miss!"

"Right... but seriously Dobby, clear off. You're going to get us into trouble."

"But miss! Dobby must warn you!"

I rolled my eyes. "Dobby, we will be fine." I looked over at Harry. "I'm going to bed. If you get in trouble, it isn't my fault."

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><p>The next morning when I got up it was because of someone banging rudely on my door. Confused, I walked to the door. Upon opening it, I found my Uncle standing there glaring at me. "From now until you are to go home, you will be confined to your room. After which you will be sent home, and will not be allowed to return."<p>

He pulled the door shut and I heard the sound of a lock and a chair being pulled against the carpet. I was shocked. What had I done to warrant this.

The image of a house elf flashed through my head. "_Dammit Harry..." _After a moment, it hit me just what I had been told. I was trapped, and I was going to be sent away from my brother.

I grabbed the door handle, I pulled on it, and yanked but to no avail. I wasn't getting out. "NO! YOU CANT DO THIS! LET ME OUT!"

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><p>I bit my lip as I listened to his sister yell. After a few moments it subsided. I had been told that yesterday was the last time I would see her. Uncle wasn't playing round, that much I knew. He had even gone as far as putting bars on my window.<p>

I sat down on my bed, a tear leaking from my eye. Angrily, I wiped away the traitorous bead of water.

After three days, the Dursleys were showing no sign of relenting. I still had yet to come up with a plan out of this mess. I sighed, laying on my bed as I watched the sun sinking behind the bars on my window, wondering miserably what was going to happen to me and my sister.

What was the good of magicking ourselves out of our rooms if our school was just going to expel us for doing so? Yet, for both of us, life at Privet Drive had reached an all-time low. Now that my 'family' knew that they weren't going to wake up as fruit bats, we had lost our only weapon. Dobby might have saved me from horrible happenings at Hogwarts, but the way things were going I'd probably starve to death anyway.

My door's cat flap rattled as Aunt Petunia's hand pushed a bowl of canned soup into the room. My insides had been aching with hunger, so I jumped off my bed and seized it. The soup was stone cold but I drank half of it in one gulp. Then, crossing the room to Hedwig's cage, I tipped the soggy vegetables at the bottom of the bowel into her empty food tray. She ruffled her feathers, and Zephyr gave me a look of deep disgust.

"It's no good turning your beaks up at it – that's all we've got." I said grimly.

These two were worse off then I was. Especially Lyra's precious red-tailed hawk. Being cooped up had made him very irritable, and with the new absence of his mistress, he was clearly becoming depressed. He missed her, so did I.

I put the empty bowl back on the floor next to the cat flap, and lay back down on my bed. Somehow I was more hungry than I had been before the soup.

Supposing that I was still alive in four weeks, what would happen when i didn't turn up at Hogwarts? Would someone be sent to see why I hadn't come back? Would they be able to make the Dursleys let me go? And Lyra-if she was still here?

The room was growing dark. Exhausted, stomach rumbling, and mind spinning over the same unanswerable questions, I fell into an uneasy sleep.

I dreamed that I was on show in a zoo, with a card reading _**Underage Wizard**_ attached to my cage. People goggled through the bars at me as I lay, starving and weak, on a bed of straw. I saw Dobby's face in the crowd and I shouted out, asking for help, but Dobby called, "Harry Potter is safe there, sir!" and vanished. Then the Dursleys appeared and Dudley rattled the bars of the cage, laughing at me.

"Stop it," I muttered as the rattling pounded in my sore head. "Leave me alone.. cut it out... I'm trying to sleep..."

I opened my eyes. Moonlight streamed through the bars and window. Someone _was_ goggling through the bars at me: a freckle faced, red-haired, long-nosed someone.

Ron Weasley was outside my window. "_Ron!_" I breathed. I crept over to the window and pushed it open so that we could talk through the bars. "Ron, how did you – what the -?"

My mouth fell open as the full impact of what I was seeing hit me. Ron was leaning out of the back window of an old turquoise car, which was parked in _midair_. Grinning with him from the front seats were Fred and George, the Weasley twins.

"All right, Harry?" asked George.

"What's been going on?" said Ron. "Why haven't you been answering my letters? I've asked you to stay about twelve times, and then dad came home saying that you'd got an official warning for using magic in front of muggles -"

"It wasn't me – and how did he know?"

"He works for the Ministry," said Ron. "You _know_ we're not supposed to do spells outside of school -"

"You should talk." I said, gesturing to the flying car.

"Oh, this doesn't count." he said. "We're only borrowing this. It's Dad's. _We_ didn't enchant it. But doing magic in front of those muggles you live with -"

"I told you, I didn't. It was a house elf. But it'll take to long to explain now – look, can you tell them at Hogwarts that the Dursleys have me locked up and wont let me come back. And obviously I can't magic us out because the Ministry will think that that's the second spell I've used in three days, so -"'

"Stop gibbering," said Ron. "We've come to take you home with us."

"But you cant magic me out either -"

"We don't need to." he said, jerking his head toward the front seat, and grinning. "You forget who I've got with me."

"Tie that around the bars." said Fred, throwing the end of a rope to me.

"If they wake up I'm dead." I muttered, as I tied the rope tightly around a bar and Fred revved up the car.

"Don't worry." he said. "And stand back."

I stepped back into the shadows next to Hedwig and Zephyr, both of whom seemed to have realized how important this was and kept still and silent. The car revved louder and louder and suddenly, with a crunching noise, the bars were pulled clean from the window as Fred drove straight up into the air. Running back to the window I saw the bars dangling a few feet above the ground. Panting, Ron hoisted them up into the car. I listened anxiously, but there was no sound from my aunt and uncle's bedroom.

When the bars were safely in the backseat with Ron, Fred reversed as close as possible to the window.

"Get in." Ron said.

"But all my Hogwarts stuff – my wand – my broomstick -"

"Where is it?"

"Locked up in the cupboard under the stairs, and I cant leave this room -"

"No problem." said George from the front passenger seat. "Out of the way Harry."

The twins climbed catlike through the window into the room. You had to hand it to them were my thoughts, as George took an ordinary hairpin from his pocket and started to pick the lock.

"A lot of wizards think that its a waste of time knowing this sort of muggle trick," explained Fred. "but we feel that they're skills worth learning, even if they are a bit slow."

There was a small click and the door swung open.

"So – we'll get your trunk – you grab anything you need from up here and hand it out to Ron." whispered George.

_Lyra! I need my sister! _I rushed out into the hallway. "Wait!" I hissed. The two stopped and looked at me curiously. "There's one more door up here you have to unlock!" I waved for them to follow me, as I quietly rushed to the door of the guest bedroom. I removed the chair from under the handle, and stepped back to let George unlock it. Once I heard the click, I yanked the door open, and ran to the bed in the middle of the room, where a girl with midnight hair slept.

I shook her shoulder in order to wake her. "Lyra! Lyra you need to get up!"

She yawned and rubbed her eyes. When she saw me she gasped. I placed a finger to her lips. "Shh! You need to get your things together, and take them to my room! Hurry!" She nodded.

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><p><em>What the hell is going on? <em>I thought. Harry was supposed to be locked in his room, same as I. I sat up as he walked to the door, where two red-haired twins stood. I jolted as I realized that they must be the Weasley twins my brother had told me about. They looked as shocked as I was. I heard Harry whisper something at them and they ran down the hall. I got up out of my bed and collected my things from around the room. I didn't bother with neat packing, just throwing them into my duffel and book bag. When I was done, I took them both to Harry's room. I was shocked when I saw a flying car outside the window, along with another redhead. This one was closer to my age. Harry was handing some of his things out to the boy. When I was spotted, Harry took my things from me and handed them out to be put in the car. "Lyra, go downstairs and help Fred and George with my trunk! Hurry!"

I nodded numbly and bolted from the room. The twins had looked at me oddly, but had let me help none the less. Once we had finally gotten the trunk into Harry's bedroom, I was told to get into the car. I nodded and climbed out the window, and was soon followed by one of the two red-haired boys in my brother's room. We all worked to get the heavy trunk into the backseat. When that was finally done the two boys began to get into the car. But as Harry climbed onto the windowsill there were two loud screeches from within the room. Which were followed by the loud voice of our uncle.

"THOSE RUDDY BIRDS!"

"Hedwig!"

"Zephyr!"

Harry bolted back across the room and snatched the birds' cage and ran back, handing the cage to his friend, whom I then took it from.

But just as Harry was climbing out the window I saw a large pudgy hand grab his ankle. The boy's and I grabbed my brother's arms, fighting to keep him in the car.

"Petunia!" roared uncle Vernon. "He's getting away! HE"S GETTING AWAY!"

But we all gave a huge tug and pulled him into the car, shutting the door behind him.

"Put your foot down Fred!" and the car suddenly shot toward the moon.

I couldn't believe it – we were free. Harry rolled down the window, the night air making his hair whip around. He looked back at the house that had formerly been our prison.

"See you next summer!" he yelled.

The car errupted with laughter, as he settled back into his seat. He then looked to the boy sitting between us. "Let out Hedwig and Zyph. They can fly behind us. They haven't had a chance to stretch their wings in ages." A hairpin was handed back to him and in a few moments, the two birds were soaring joyfully out the open window.

The boy in the front passenger seat looked back at the two, whom were now flying beside the car. "Hey Harry, isn't that the same hawk that brings you those letters during school?"

I answered for him. "Ya, he's mine. Zephyr's his name"

Everyone turned to look at me. The boy whom had spoken raised an eyebrow. "Which brings up a second more important question. -"

"- Who are you?" finished his twin.

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><p>PLEASE REVIEW! anons are accepted flames are deleted, but constructive criticisim is encouraged<p> 


	3. The Dragon, and the Harp

**So this particular chapter didnt have much that I was unhappy with. It was mainly just gramer errors. actuall, skimming through the chapters I think my issue with the story's direction, is mainly after Lyra arrives at the school.**

The Dragon, and the Harp

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><p>Everyone turned to look at me. The boy whom had spoken raised an eyebrow. "Which brings up a second more important question. -"<p>

"- Who are you?" finished his twin.

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><p>Lyra blushed to the roots of her hair. Morphing into her fox form, she crawled across Ron's shoulders and onto mine. She hid her head, and as much of her body as she could behind my neck and head (which was a lot of it considering that she was a relatively small fox); with her tail curled around my neck. I chuckled at her. "What you don't want to explain? Where did all that fire go Lyra?" behind my head I herd her snarl. I laughed again. "So, up to me then? Well aren't you mean..."<p>

"Um...?" I looked at Ron to see him thoroughly confused. "What the bloody hell is going on?"

"How about I explain the 'magic if front of the muggles' thing first? I don't think she wants to be revealed just yet." There was a low growl of approval from my shoulder.

The three Weasleys nodded in agreement.

I told them all about Dobby, the warning he had given me, and the fiasco with the violet pudding. By the end of which Lyra had started dosing on my shoulders. When I had finished there was a bit of a shocked silence.

"Very fishy." said Fred finally.

"Definitely dodgy." agreed George. "So he wouldn't even tell you who's plotting all this stuff?"

I shook my head. "I don't think he could. Like I said, every time he got close to letting something slip, he started banging his head against the wall."

Fred and George looked at each other. I frowned. "What-you think he was lying to me?"

"Well," Fred said. "put it this way – house-elves have got powerful magic of their own. But they usually can't use it without their master's permission. I reckon old Dobby was sent to stop you coming back to Hogwarts. Someone's idea of a joke. Can you think of anyone at school with a grudge against you?"

"Yes." said Ron and I instantly.

"Draco Malfoy." I explained. "He hates me."

"Draco Malfoy?" said George, turning around. "Not Lucius Malfoy's son?"

"Must be, it's not a very common name, is it?" I said. "Why?"

"I've heard dad talking about him. He was a big supporter of You-Know-Who."

"And when You-Know-Who disappeared," Fred said, craning around to look at us, "Lucius Malfoy came back saying he'd never meant any of it. Load of dung – Dad reckons he was right in You-Know-Who's inner circle."

"Death Eaters.." I muttered.

George whipped back around, Fred stiffened in his seat. "_Where_ in the seven bloody rings of hell did you hear _that _term?"

I blinked at them. "Why?"

"That's what You-Know-Who's followers were called. It isn't a term used a lot now. Who told you that?"

"Lyra."

"You mean that fox girl on your shoulder?" I nodded. "Who the bloody hell is she?"

"Guys," I said, whilst pulling my sister into my lap. She growled lightly at being woken, but soon settled back down, curling up in my lap. "This is Lyra Lark Potter. My sister, and twin."

Again, shocked silence.

"But – she's supposed to be _dead._" Fred said.

"Why's that?" I said confusedly.

"No one's seen her since your family was killed Harry. And when you came to Hogwarts without her, it was publicly assumed that she was..." he bit his lip.

I glared at the morphed girl in my lap. "Why couldn't you be awake?" I looked back up at the Weasleys. "She's been in America. With a wizarding family this whole time. She was born with some sort of magical oddity, so she had to be sent away. Last summer when Hagrid gave me my Hogwarts letter, he gave me one from her as well. She explained all of it. I just gave you the short version. And the reason she isn't at Hogwarts is because she is going to school in Massachusetts. She came to visit for the summer."

Ron frowned. "O...kay... so why didn't she just tell us that instead of well, that." he said pointing to her animal form.

I shrugged. "I don't have a clue. She's actually really fiery. But maybe that's because I haven't seen her when she's not around family."

The others nodded. Then George peered down through the windshield. "That's the main road. So we should be there in about ten minutes... just as well, it's getting light."

A faint pinkish glow was visible along the eastern horizon.

Fred brought the car lower and a dark patchwork of fields and clumps of tree's became visible. "we're a little ways outside the village," continued George. "Ottery St. Catchpole." lower and lower went the car. The edge of a brilliant red sun was now gleaming through the trees.

"Touchdown!" said Fred as, with a slight bump we hit the ground. (Waking up Lyra in the process, via knocking her off my lap and onto the floor)

We had landed next to a tumbledown garage in a small yard. And Lyra and I looked upon Ron's home for the first time.

It looked as though it had once been a large stone pigpen, but extra rooms had been added here and there until it was several stories high, and so crooked that it looked as though it were held up by magic. (which, I reminded myself, it probably was.) four or five chimneys were perched on top of the red roof. A lopsided sign was stuck in the ground near the entrance, reading: _**The Burrow**_. Around the front door was a jumble of rubber boots and a very rusty cauldron. Several fat brown chickens were pecking their way around the yard.

"It's not much." said Ron.

"It's _wonderful_." I said thinking of privet drive.

"Quite, I like it." everyone turned. Lyra had apparently returned to her original seat and form with no one having noticed.

We all got out of the car after that. I noticed that as we did so, Ron turned a nasty green color. I turned around to see Mrs. Weasley marching across the yard, scattering the chickens. For a short, plump, kind-faced woman, it was remarkable how much she looked like a saber-toothed tiger. When she finally came to a halt in front of us she had her hands on her hips, staring from one guilty son to the next. She was wearing a flowered apron with a wand sticking out of the pocket.

"_So."_ she said.

"Morning Mum." said George in what he clearly thought was a jaunty, winning voice.

All three of Mrs Weasley's sons were taller than her, but they cowered as her rage broke over them. "_Beds empty! No note! Car gone! _You could have _died,_you could have been _seen! _You could have lost your father his _job!"_ it seemed to go on for hours. She had shouted herself hoarse by the time she turned on me. I backed up into the car.

"I'm very pleased to see you Harry dear." She said. "Come in and have some breakfast." She walked back to the house, and with a encouraging look from Ron, I followed her. As did Lyra and the rest of them.

The kitchen was rather cramped. There was a scrubbed wooden table and chairs in the middle. I sat on the edge of my seat, looking around. I'd never been in a wizarding house before.

The clock on the wall opposite me had only one hand and no numbers on it. Instead it had things like: _time to make tea, _or _time to feed the chickens, _and _you're late_. Books were stacked on the mantlepiece, with titles like: C_harm Your Own Cheese, Enchantment in Baking, _and_ One Minute Feasts – It's Magic!_ And unless my ears were deceiving me, the old radio by the sink had just announced that coming up was "Witching Hour, with popular singing sorceress, Celestina Warbeck."

Mrs Weasley was clattering around making breakfast a little haphazardly. Throwing dirty looks at her sons as she put sausages in the frying pan. Every now and then she would mutter things under her breath, presumably about her children.

"I don't blame _you_ dear." she assured me as she tipped eight or nine sausages onto my plate. "Arthur and I were worried about you too. Just last night we were saying that we'd come and get you ourselves if you hadn't written Ron back by Friday. But really," (She was now adding three fried eggs to my plate) "flying an illegal car halfway across the country – anyone could have seen you -" she flicked her wand at the dishes in the sink, which began cleaning themselves.

"It was _cloudy_, Mum!" Fred protested.

"You keep your mouth closed while you're eating!" Mrs Weasley snapped.

"They were starving them Mum!" George added.

"And you!" she said. But it was with a slightly softened face that she started cutting me some bread and buttering it.

At that moment there was a distraction in the form of a small red-haired figure in a long nightdress, who appeared in the kitchen, gave a small squeal, and ran out again.

"Ginny," Ron told me in an undertone. "My sister. She's been talking about you all summer."

"Yeah, she'll be wanting your autograph Harry." Fred said with a grin, but he caught his mother's eye and bent back down over his plate without another word.

I furrowed my brow. "Speaking of sisters," I said reaching under the table to where my sister sat in her fox form. "Lyra, I know you don't have much of an appetite, but you really should eat something." I told her as I pulled her up into the seat next to me.

She but her paws on the table and glared at me as she morphed back to normal. "Oh go away. You may look like Dad but you aren't him. So quit acting like it." she said lightly sticking out her tongue.

I heard Mrs Weasley gasp. I turned to look at her, she was standing stiff and her mouth was gaping open. Lyra blushed nervously and stood up and held out her hand to shake. "Nice to meet you Mrs Weasley. I'm Harry's sister, Lyra Lark Potter."

Numbly Mrs Weasley took her hand and shook it. "O-of course! Please, excuse my rudeness a moment ago, it's just that-"

"I'm supposed to be dead?"

Mrs Weasley frowned. "No, well yes, but, it's just that you look so much like your mother.. for a moment I could have sworn..."

Now that it was mentioned, I noticed how right she was. In the old photo album that I had been given, I had seen dozens of pictures of my mum. And Lyra did look a lot like her. Actually the only difference I could think of was the color of her hair.

After a weird few minutes, we all finished eating, with Lyra just picking off my plate. Afterwords, Ron gave us a tour of the house.

* * *

><p>About a week after my brother and I arrived at The Burrow, two owls flew through the window during breakfast. One carrying several different letters, the other, carrying only one. The owl carrying the solitary letter was one I recognized. It belonged to my school's headmistress. I walked over and took the letters from the two. "It's our school letters. Harry's included." I said passing the Hogwarts letters around.<p>

"Dumbledore must already know that you're here Harry. He doesn't miss a trick that man." said Mr Weasley.

There was a few moment as all of us read our letters. In mine there was a plain ticket from my home in New York to where I would get on the train to go to school, on September third. There was also a list of the new books I would need in the up coming year.

_**Second-year students will require: **_

_The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2, _by Miranda Goshawk

_A Sophomoric Guide to Transfiguration, _by Emeric Switch

_Magical Drafts and Potions, Part 2, _by Arsenius Jigger

_Defensive Spells, Grade 2, _by Andromeda Farrow.

Apparently all the Hogwarts students were required to get all of Gilderoy Lockhart.

"But those aren't even textbooks! They're just stories that glorify that man's 'accomplishments'! How can anyone expect to instruct a class with those? On top of that there expensive."

Mrs Weasley nodded. "We'll manage."

"Mrs Weasley?"

"Yes dear?" she asked brightly. I smiled at her she had been the most welcoming of the Weasleys. She didn't seem fazed that I had just appeared in my brother's life out of the blue. I had the slight suspicion that it was my similarity with my mom but it was fine.

"May I be excused? I wanted to go see Zephyr I haven't hung out with him in a few days. I feel bad for neglecting him." She nodded indulgently. "Thanks!" I was out of my chair and running outside in an instant.

Once in the yard I whistled loudly. The answer came in the form of a screeching from above me. I looked up to see my friend soaring towards me. I held out my arm to him. He landed gracefully on my forearm. "Hey Zeph, how've you been? I'm sorry that I haven't been around as much." I said stroking his feathers. He twittered softly and nipped at my fingertips affectionately. I smiled. "I got my letter from Salem. I'm going to go to Diagon ally with the Weasleys to get my books. Do you want to come?" the hawk twittered again and fidgeted on my arm. I chuckled. "I thought you might."

"How can you understand him?"

I turned around to find Fred and George standing in the doorway. I blushed. "I've had him for three years, and I'm an animagus so I'm more in tune with him than I would be otherwise." we stood there for another moment or so before Zephyr decided that he was going to go off. I smiled as I watched him fly off. Turning back into the boys. I frowned.

"What's wrong?" one of them said (I couldn't tell which was which)

I sat down on the porch's bottom step. "How do the two of you manage it?"

"What do you mean?"

I sighed. "You're twins, and totally in sync with one another. Sometimes it seems like you share a brain. But with me and Harry... even though we aren't identical, we're still twins... he and I are so different, we're close ya, but..." I sighed.

The two of them sat on either side of me. "It's mainly because, from what you said, this summer was the first time you even met. But me and Fred have been together since we were born, we grew up together. And being so far apart wont help it much, but you and Harry might be that close one of these days." George said kindly

I smiled softly. "Luckily I'll only be in America for a little while longer..." I said, mostly to myself.

"Wha'd ya mean by that?" asked Fred.

I smirked. "Dumbledore is arranging for an exchange program with my school. So I'll be going to Hogwarts for my third year. And every year afterwords."

"That's fantastic!"

I nodded. "But don't tell Harry. Actually don't tell anyone. I don't want it to slip out to my brother's ears. I want to surprise him. And by that I mean he wont find out till I'm sorted. Got it boys?"

They both laughed. "Got it."

"So was there any reason that you came out here?"

Fred nodded. "Yeah, Mum wanted us to let you know that we're going to Diagon Ally next Wednesday."

I nodded. "Are we going by floo powder?"

"Yeah."

Mrs Weasley woke early on the following Wednesday. After everyone had had breakfast we put on our coats, (I finally got a chance to wear my new witches robes. I still don't know why I packed them, but oh well) and Mrs Weasley took a flower pot from the mantlepiece, offering it to Harry, whom just stared at it confused.

"W-what am I supposed to do?" he stammered.

"He's never traveled by floo powder Mrs Weasley. I'm sorry I forgot to tell you." I chuckled.

"Never?" Mrs Weasley said. "But how did you get to Diagon Ally to get your school things last year?"

"I went on the underground-" he started.

"Really?" Mr Weasley said excitedly. "Were there _escapators? _How exactly-"

"Not _now,_ Arthur." said Mrs Weasley. "Floo powder's a lot quicker dear, but goodness me, if you've never used it before -"

"He'll be alright Mrs Weasley." I smiled. "Harry, watch us first." I said taking a pinch of the glittering powder, Fred and George followed suit. I stepped up to the fire and threw the powder in. With a roar, the flames turned green and then rose higher and higher. I stepped right in and shouted out the destination. "Diagon Ally!" at the same time Zephyr flew through the flames with me.

I arrived in a grate on a busy bustling street. Fred and George soon followed. "Hey, let everyone know that I'll meet up with them later. I want to look around, plus I have to get a few things before I shop for books and such." They nodded, and I ran off.

The first place I found was one for potions ingredients-I had been running dangerously low on some of them. Afterwords, I continued going from store to store, all the while with Zephyr on my shoulder, or flying nearby.

But being the klutz I am I ran straight into someone.

* * *

><p>I was walking to flourish and blots when I ran into someone. We both fell on the ground.<p>

"Ow! Watch it!" I snapped at them, holding the elbow that had hit the ground. I tried to glare at the girl whom was now picking up a few dropped items. But I found it impossible to glare at her. She was beautiful.

The girl had long black curly hair, and fierce, penetrating, green eyes, with a petite nose, and full rose-bud lips. She was wearing an expensive looking, very dark purple robe, over a lose fitted light gray shirt, and black jeans.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." she said. I noticed that her voice, while containing a slight British accent, was distinctively American.

I shook my head. "No, its fine."

She smiled. Even her teeth were perfect. She stood up and reached down, to help me up. Embarrassed, I took it. She had incredibly soft skin.

Not knowing what to say I blurted out the first question that came to mind. I ended up feeling like an idiot. Which is not becoming of a Malfoy. I shouldn't even be bothering with this girl. "Are you American?"

She chuckled. "Well, yes and no. I was born in England, and I moved to America when I was young, I'm actually here visiting family."

"I see."

There was a moment of awkward silence between us before she spoke again. "I'm Lyra, by the way." she said sticking her hand out to shake mine.

I nodded. "Draco." I said taking her hand

Lyra's smile widened. "Like the constellation. The Dragon?" I nodded. "Same here. I'm named for the harp."

I grinned. "I actually know that one." she giggled. It was a soft laugh, like bells.

* * *

><p>We walked and talked, and lost track of time. We ended up Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, flirting out of all things. If I stopped to think about it, he was the first person I ever had flirted with, but then again, we were only twelve.<p>

I was surprised to find that we shared favorite ice creams.

Draco was funny, and I was able to keep an intelligent conversation running with him for more than five minutes.

I was currently laughing at a joke he had told. "Ok, ok. So what about potions classes?"

"They're great actually, my godfather Severus Snape is the teacher. And I'm also top of the class."

I smirked at him. "Oh really? I bet you're a true teacher's pet in that case."

He shook his head. "No, we're really close, but he's the kind of person who's a bit of a cold fish... about everything."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh what a joy he must be."

Draco shrugged. "Actually he isn't really that bad. Once you get to know him. But what about you? How're you in potions?"

I smiled widely. "It's my best subject. I actually have plans to work in that area when I'm older. What about you Draco? What're your plans after school... do you even have any?"

He frowned. "I never thought about it, really. I actually want to play Quidditch, but it isn't exactly a practical career choice now is it?"

I shook my head. "No, its not. But I suppose for recreational purposes then it could be fun. Now lets see.." I said, leaning back in my chair. I studied him from head to toe. He had a small frame, but still sturdy. He had strong, lean, build to him (as much as any normal twelve year old can have), and seemed like he would be rather agile on a broomstick. I noticed him blush as I stared him down. "You seem like you would be best suited for a seeker's position. Correct?" He seemed shocked by my deduction. I outright laughed at him. "What, you think that girls can't know sports as well?" I made a dramatically appalled face, placing my hand on my chest and shaking my head. "I am offended monsieur Dragon!"

He laughed. "No! I'm just surprised that you know about it, you don't seem the type to be interested in it."

I shook my head. "I'm not, but my brother is, he plays seeker. I-on the other hand-am a dancer."

His eyebrows rose in mild surprise. "Oh really? What kind of dance?"

I shrugged. "Several actually. I took classical dance lessons when I was seven. And then a few more once I got a bit older. I know tango, rumba, Viennese waltz, and of course, Foxtrot. I'm actually quite good."

"Why Miss Lyra, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were gloating." he said smirking.

I chuckled. "And if I am?"

He opened his mouth to say something, but abruptly closed it, his happy relaxed demeanor gone. He seemed to be looking behind me at something. Halfway turning around in my seat, I saw that directly behind me a tall woman with blond hair, much like Draco's, if only a few shades darker. She was fuming and walking purposely towards us. Behind her was a man with long blonde hair, exactly the same color as Draco's. He to looked rather displeased.

The boy stood as they reached us. "Um... hello, Mum. Dad..."

"You were supposed to meet us Draco. Where were you. Explain yourself." said the man. His voice was cold and harsh. i didnt know why, but it mde me want to turn invisible.

Draco seemed to shrink back from him. "I'm sorry, I got side tra-"

"It was my fault, sir." I said standing up next to my newest friend. _What the heck am I doing?_

His cold gray eyes snapped to me. His eyes may have been the same color as his son's, but they weren't the same eyes. His were stormy, and angry. Draco's were warm like liquid silver. "And just who are _you?"_ he said in a rather condescending manner.

I didn't let the man's tone even faze me, and offered my hand. "Lyra Lark." I knew better than to give out my last name. All it was was a big bear trap.

The man gripped my hand tightly, I fought the impulse to wince and cringe away from him. He was hurting my hand a bit, and my scar tingled in an uncomfortable way. "Lucius." he practically hissed at me, causing my skin to crawl.

When he released my hand, I turned to Draco. "I had better be going, Dragon. My brother and his friends are probably having a panic attack by now." I told him, gathering my things.

He looked puzzled. "Won't your parents be worried to?"

I paused my movement for a moment, before finishing picking up my purchases. I then looked him squarely in the eye. "I don't have any. They both died just as the war against Voldemort ended. My twin brother and I are both orphans." He looked shocked at my statement. "It was nice to meet you Dragon." and I left without another word.

* * *

><p><strong>please reveiw<strong>


	4. Second year letters

**Once again, not much has changed in this chapter. R&R **

**Ja ne!**

Second year letters

* * *

><p>I turned to Draco. "I had better be going dragon. My brother and his friends are probably having a panic attack by now." I told him, gathering my things."It was nice to meet you Dragon." and I left without another word.<p>

It didn't take long to find Harry. He and the Weasley family were standing outside of Flourish and Blots. Walking up I noticed three new additions to the group. A slender woman with long brown hair, with a tall man with gray-brown hair, with chocolate eyes. The two were talking to Mr Weasley. The third addition was a girl mine and Harry's age. She had shoulder length brown bushy hair, and the same chocolate eyes as her dad.

The moment my twin saw me he ran over to me. "Where were you? You had us all worried!"

I grinned in a guilty manner. "Sorry. I was... would you kill me if I said flirting with someone?" He glared at me. "Ah ha... for the record he was really nice." _And cute and funny... _The glaring continued.

Ron walked up behind him. "Mate just forget it. C'mon let's introduce her to Hermione."

* * *

><p>After another week with my brother and the Weasley family, it finally became the day that I had to leave. And seeing as I was in a wizarding home, I was to use floo powder.<p>

I hugged Harry tightly. "I'm gonna miss you."

He hugged me just as fiercely. "Same. Promise that you'll come over next summer? I don't think I can handle the Dursleys alone this summer."

I chuckled. I wasn't going to be able to. I was going to be moving into the home that Dumbledore had bought for the exchange program. I had no clue where it was, but I knew it wasn't in Little Whinging. Not wanting to tell him this, I simply nodded. "I'll try Harry." letting go I waved to everyone. "Goodbye. I'll miss you all." I whistled. "Zephyr!" he flew to my shoulder. I put on my back pack and picked up my duffel. Taking a small handful of floo powder, I tossed it into the fire. Sighing I stepped forward. "2323, magnolia street! New York!"

* * *

><p>I was starring out the window of my compartment when I heard the door open. "Found her guys!" I turned my head to see my best friend standing in the door way.<p>

I smiled. "Hey Sarah. How was your summer?"Sarah and my other friends whom were now entering the compartment stopped and stared at me. "What?"

"You've gone British." Sarah deadpanned.

"I what?"

Jarred, my crush from last year chuckled. "You've got a British accent Lyra."

I stared at him as if he'd grown a second head. "What are you t-"i gasped and clamped a hand over my mouth. I looked at them all. They looked smug. "I-I guess I picked it up over the summer."

"That's right!" exclaimed Nicole. "You went to England to visit your brother! How was it?"

I smiled and launched into my story.

* * *

><p>It was during the second day at breakfast that I was reading the newspaper and saw an article on a flying car. Surprised I kept reading. Apparently a blue Ford Angela had been seen by no less than seven muggles, flying through muggle London airspace. Looking at the picture I immediately recognized it as the same one that had rescued my brother and I from the Dursleys.<p>

Not long after, Hedwig flew through the window. As did Fawks, Dumbledore's phoenix.

_Lyra,_

_You wont believe what happened! The gateway to nine and three quarters shut itself! So Ron ad I had to fly the car to Hogwarts, and we ended up-_

I ripped the letter in half and took out a quill and some paper. Oh that boy was _so_ gonna get it.

* * *

><p>The next few days were filled with whispers about Ron's howler. I felt bad for him. The embarrassment didn't seem like it was going to end.<p>

But this morning at breakfast I was proved wrong, when Hedwig dropped a purple envelope onto my plate. _Lyra why!_

And of course Malfoy noticed immediately. "Well well Potter. Didn't know you knew anyone _able_ to send _you_ a howler. Go one open it up!" he laughed.

Biting my lip I opened it. And immediately cringed.

"_**HARRY JAMES POTTER! I KNEW YOU WEREN'T A GENIUS, BUT STEALING THAT CAR? ARE YOU AND RONALD REALLY THAT STUPID! YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN YOURSELVS **_**EXPELLED**_** YOU MORON! YOU HAD BETTER BE GLAD THAT I'M ON A DIFFERENT CONTENENT OR I WOULD **_**SOOO**_** KICK THAT SKINNY BUTT OF YOURS! THAT GOES FOR RONALD AS WELL! DID YOU EVEN STOP AND THINK ABOUT WHAT KIND OF PANIC THAT MUST HAVE CAUSED MR AND MRS WEASLEY? I ACTUALLY GOT A LETTER FROM PROFESSOR DUMBLEDORE TELLING ME ABOUT YOUR STUPID LITTLE STUNT. NOT JUST FROM YOU! I KNOW YOU HATE OUR AUNT AND UNCLE, BUT THEY DID RAISE YOU WELL ENOUGH TO KNOW RIGHT FROM WRONG! YOU COULD HAVE DIED! YOU NEARLY EXPOSED OUR WORLD! I AM ABSOLUTELY DISCUSTED WITH YOUR BEHAIVIOR! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING? ON TOP OF THAT, EVERYONE AT **_**MY**_** SCHOOL SOMEHOW FOUND OUT THAT IT WAS YOU! DO YOU EVEN REALIZE HOW EMBARRASSED I AM OVER THIS? I SWEAR TO YOU MY DEAR BROTHER, IF YOU SO MUCH AS PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE, I **_**WILL**_** COME TO HOGWARTS AND FINISH WHAT VOLDEMORT STARTED! YOU UNDERSTAND ME?"**_

The letter then burst into flames and curled into ashes. The room was silent. I think that everyone was caught between shock that Ihad received a howler. And shock that my sister was evidently alive.

I just sat staring at the pile of ashes now sitting in front of me.

* * *

><p>It was just after Halloween that Hedwig returned. I was a bit surprised though. I hadn't expected another letter for another month or so. Confused, I opened the letter.<p>

_Lyra,_

_While I am not exactly happy with you at the moment, I need advice. There was a cat petrified tonight. It was hung on a lamp next to a message written in blood on the wall behind it. _

_**The chamber of secrets has been opened.**_

_**Enemies of the heir, beware.**_

_And it get's weirder. Just before my friends and I found it, I heard a voice. It seemed like it was coming from the walls... when I followed it we found it. Malfoy said something about 'you'll be next mudbloods.' . I didn't understand it though. Hermione will probably figure it out but still... can you help? This is important. I'm getting a really bad feeling. Maybe Dobby was right, there is something bad going on at Hogwarts._

_Harry_

* * *

><p>Lyra's reply came a few days later. After reading through it I ran to the library. I found Ron in the back of the library, measuring his history of magic homework. Professor Binns had asked for a three foot long composition on "The Medieval Assembly of European Wizards."<p>

"I don't believe it, I'm still eight inches short..." said Ron furiously, letting go of the parchment which sprang back into a roll. "And Hermione's done four feet seven inches and her writing's _tiny._"

"Where is she?" I asked.

"Somewhere over there," he said, pointing along the shelves. "Looking for another book. I think she's trying to read the whole library by Christmas." just then the girl in question emerged between the bookshelves.

She looked irritable and at last seemed ready to talk to us. "_All_ the copies of _Hogwarts, A History _have been taken out," she said sitting down next to Ron. "And there's a two week waiting list. I _wish_ I hadn't left my copy at home. But I couldn't fit it in my trunk with all of the Lockhart books."

"Why do you want it?" I asked.

"The same reason everyone else wants it," she huffed. "To read up on the legend of the chamber of secrets."

"I think I might be able to help with that."

She and Ron starred at me. I pulled out my letter and read it quietly out loud.

"_Harry,_

_For the record, that howler was well deserved. As for the chamber of secrets... that I can help with. When I was younger, I found a book in my foster parents' library. It was about their family history. My foster mom is a halfblood, and my foster dad is a pureblood. My foster dad is _very_ distantly related to Salazar Slytherin's line. When I found that out I got interested in it, so I did a little more research. Clearly, he was one of the four founders of Hogwarts. Now, at first all four of the founders co-existed quite harmoniously. _But_ a rift appeared between Godric Gryffindor and Slytherin. It seemed that Salazar Slytherin wanted to be more selective about the students. He thought that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. In other words, purebloods._

_So, at some point or another, Slytherin _left_ the school._

_But here's the part where facts fade in to legend. It is said, that Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle where he taught (Hogwarts obviously), of which, the other founders knew nothing._

_According to the legend Slytherin sealed the Chamber of Secrets, so that none would be able to open it until the time when his own true heir, arrived at the school. And that the heir alone, would be able to find the chamber, and unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all those who, in Slytherin few, were unworthy to study magic._

_The 'horror within' refers to a monster that only Slytherin's heir can control._

_Harry, listen to me. If this isn't just a legend, and the Chamber has indeed been opened, then you and your friends are in grave danger. _Especially _Hermione. Keep her close to you or Ron._

That _is what Malfoy meant. Muggleborns are the ones whom Salazar deemed 'unworthy'._

_Harry you had better write me. This is freaky, please don't make me worry. Half a world away, it could take forever for me to find out if something happened. I wouldn't be able to stand losing you Harry. Neither would your friends._

_Stay safe, Lyra._

* * *

><p>It was a week before I got my next letter.<p>

_Lyra,_

_The three of us think that Malfoy either is the heir, or he knows who it is. But we need a way to interrogate him. But with Crabbe and Goyle constantly trailing him like body guards, we cant get near him. Got any bright ideas? I think Hermione has one, but she's holding out on us. _

_Harry_

I smirked.

* * *

><p>We were going to study in the library during lunch, when Hedwig flew into the great hall. Hermione and Ron huddled near when I opened the letter.<p>

_Hermione's a smart witch. She came up with the same idea I did. But I can see why she kept it a secret. At my school, the method would be breaking at least sixty rules, probably the same at Hogwarts. What you need to do is turn into Crabbe and Goyle. How? Two words: Polyjuce Potion. Have Hermione explain._

* * *

><p><em>Lyra,<em>

_You remember Dobby? Well. He fixed a bludger so that it would only go after me. It broke my arm, and the Lockhart decided to 'fix' it. He ended up taking all thirty three bones out of my arm. That man is a joke on wizard kind. But that's not why I'm writing you. Not only did Dobby reappear, but I heard the voice again. And right after, a muggleborn, first year Collin Crevy was brought into the hospital wing. He was petrified. Lyra I need your help. Please tell me I'm not going crazy..._

_-Harry_

* * *

><p><em>Harry,<em>

_I don't know what to say about why you're hearing voices. But I can say this, from what you're telling me, there seems to be a connection between the voices and the attacks. I'm thinking that maybe, it's the monster... harry, if you hear this voice again, get lost. Run. Get away from it. Please._

_-Lyra_

* * *

><p><em>Lyra, <em>

_First off, we've started working on the potion. It should be ready by Christmas. That's when we plan to use it. Malfoy's staying to. And second, people are starting to think that _I'm _the heir of Slytherin. Because I was the one who found the next victim. He's in my year, Justin Finch-Fletchy. But that's not the only reason. Lockhart started up a dueling club. As an example I was made to duel Malfoy in front of everyone. Malfoy used some sort of spell to make a snake shoot out of the end of his wand. It was angry and went after Justin, I told it to stop and... it obeyed me... Hermione and Ron said that I'm a Parselmouth, and that Slytherin was to. So now everyone thinks that I'm the heir..._

_-Harry_

* * *

><p><em>Harry,<em>

_Ignore them. You aren't the one attacking people. You know that. Catch the real culprit, and your name will be cleared. And look on the bright side, the Slytherins don't think that your Salazar's heir._

_-Lyra_

* * *

><p><em>Lyra,<em>

_The potion worked, for me and Ron... Hermione somehow got cat hair instead. So now she's... well lets just say its not pretty. We were wrong though. Malfoy is just as clueless as we are. So we're back to square one. Term is starting so we have to hurry up and figure this out before someone else get's attacked. On the bright side we do have a new lead. The chamber was last opened fifty years ago, and we've found the diary of the person who caught them last time. But its blank..._

_-Harry_

* * *

><p><em>Brilliant Harry. You have successfully run into a wall. <em>

* * *

><p><em>Lyra,<em>

_The attacks have stopped for the moment. And by the way, happy valentines day. Malfoy and Lockhart are as obnoxious as ever. How're things for you?_

_-Harry_

* * *

><p><em>Harry,<em>

_Late happy valentines day I suppose. And things are... ok I guess. I'm sorry about those two idiots. And as far as the attacks stopping, that might be because it's getting riskier for the heir to get into the chamber, what with everyone being on high alert. I have no idea what's going to happen, but you cant let your guard down._

_-Lyra _

* * *

><p><em>Lyra, <em>

_It was Hagrid that opened the chamber last time. But, the attacks, not only have they started again, but it was Hermione. She and a girl called Penelope Clearwater are the most recent attacks. It was right before the Quidditch match, I heard the voice, and Hermione said something about having figured something out. She ran off to the library before she could explain. And then the match got canceled because she was found near the library. Oh my god Lyra... when Ron and I saw her... she was cold, and stiff... it's so scarey. Me and Ron are going to use dad's old cloak and go down to Hagrid's hut to talk to him now._

_-Harry_

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><p><em>Harry you need to hurry this up. I feel like if you don't hurry something terrible will happen.<em>

* * *

><p><em>Lyra!<em>

_It wasn't him! He was framed! And I know what you mean. I'm getting the same sort of feeling. And with Dumbledore gone... anything could happen._

_-Harry_

* * *

><p><em>Congratulations on returning to square one... again.<em>

* * *

><p><em>Lyra, <em>

_It's over. Everything. We found the chamber and killed the monster. It was a basilisk... a snake. That's why I could hear it speak. Hermione's ok now to. The mandrake drafts worked wonders. She's good as new. I'll give you the full story during the summer. You are coming to stay right? See you then!_

_-Harry_

I breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was going to be ok. Everything would be as it should.

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><p><strong>Hope you enjoyed<strong>


	5. Godric's Hollow

Godric's Hollow

A/N: I did this chapter because I felt like I should give Lyra a deeper connection to her past. And I also would like to say that, yes she remembers her parents. Not much, but certain things will trigger flashes of memory. This is due to her animagus side. For some reason the early magic of it effected her brain causing her to have photographic memory.

**This chapter has had some serious remodeling, by which I mean that I am bringing a little more light onto one of my supporting characters, making her more prominent. So those of you who read this story before would be advised to read it again. butit wont be an issue later on if you dont, so its cool. R&R **

**Ja ne!**

* * *

><p>"So did you sign up for it?"<p>

I turned my head away from the window, to look at my friend Sarah. The blonde was starring at her hands. "What?"

She glanced up at me. "The exchange program. Did you sign up?" I nodded. "I figured. I cant go. To expensive."

I sighed. I felt bad for her. "I'm sorry, Sarah. I have to."

She frowned. "I know. Everyone's gonna miss you though." I nodded. "You need to be careful though."

I looked up. "Why?"

"You do know who's going to be in that house with you, right?" I shook my head. Her eyes got wide. "Jason signed up. So did Darrel, Samantha, Erin, and Carly."

"Shit. You've got to be joking." she shook her head. I covered my eyes with my hand. Two of the five people she had named had once been my boyfriends. Jason had dated me for two months before he had purposefully destroyed my heart. Ever since then he had been a thorn in my side, inventing new ways to get under my skin and hurt me. Darrel was just an idiot. I had dated him for a month in total, but ever since I had broken up with him, he had kept pursuing me... sort of. He seemed to think that I was madly in love with him and would fall back into his arms if he pushed enough. Samantha, Erin, and Carly were the richest, brattiest, most annoying girls in our year. "I'm doomed."

She laughed. "Ya. So am I going to see you at all?"

I smiled. "Definitely. The letter that Dumbledore sent me said that the floo would be open. I'll send you the address once we're all settled in."

My best friend's face brightened up considerably. "Really? That's great! Is your brother gonna be around? I'd love to meet him!"

I laughed. "Sorry, not till next summer. He doesn't know about the program. 'Cause Dumbledore hand picked the transferring Hogwarts students."

She stuck her tongue out at me. "Oh you're no fun." I laughed again.

We talked and laughed for the rest of the train ride. After that we found the rest of our friends and got on the metro. After getting off we went to the airport. We came from different states, so we all got on different plains, well, all of us but Sarah and I, who both lived in NYC.

* * *

><p>I was standing with my trunk, both my duffel bags, and my back pack; in front of the fireplace. I had said goodbye to my foster parents this morning, and was about to go to the Leaky Cauldron in London, where Albus Dumbledore was waiting for me and the other transferring students.<p>

Taking a deep breath I gripped my belongings tightly, and grabbed the floo powder. "Leaky Cauldron! London!"

when I stepped out of the grate I found myself looking at an old sorcerer with a long white beard, wearing dark blue robes. He smiled at me, his blue eyes twinkling from behind half moon spectacles. "Ah, miss Lyra Potter I presume?"

Smiling warmly at him, I nodded. "Good day to you Professor Dumbledore."

He nodded and turned back to the other students. "Now, since everyone is here, we shall be on our way." he said, pulling out a pocket-watch on a rather long chain. The item was surrounded by a faint blue glow. I realized it was a portkey. We all reached for it, holding onto some part of it before it left. I felt a tugging just behind my bellybutton, just before I found myself in a large front living room, with Zephyr's talons digging into my shoulder.

Dumbledore pocketed the portkey and walked so that he was standing in front of all of us. "Now, everyone, this," he said gesturing merrily around. "is your new home. It is a small house in a small country town of England. I have magically expanded several of the rooms, and added several new ones to serve as bedrooms. Aside from the main rooms, the hose is plain and un decorated. Once a witch or wizard decides that a bedroom shall be his or hers, the room will change to whatever that person's ideal bedroom would be. On the first of September you all are to use the floo powder on the mantel to return to the Leaky Cauldron, and then make your way to the train station. Are there any questions?" he said beaming at us. Carly raised her hand. "Yes miss..?"

"Dawson. I was wondering what village we are in. You said it was in the country, but you never gave an actual name." She said in a slightly condescending tone.

His smile faltered a bit, but his voice stayed the same cheery tone. "Godric's Hollow."

I dropped my duffel bags in shock, and my book bag slipped from my now ridged shoulder. I felt my mouth open slightly, as hot tears built up in my eyes.

Everyone turned to look at me, in confusion. Dumbledore's eyes held a sad understanding. His words echoed around in my brain. _Godric's Hollow._

I bolted out into the hallway, and out the door. Following instinct, I ran until I was in the village square. Looking around I spotted the steeple of the church. I ran towards it, and stopped at the graveyard's gate.

I could vaguely hear footsteps running after me, but I didn't pay them any mind as I numbly opened the gate. Entering the yard, I took a deep breath. I walked along the path to the row's of tombstones. I don't know how I knew, but I let my feet take me, and I soon was standing before a certain grave.

**JAMES POTTER LILY POTTER**

BORN 27 MARCH 1960 BORN 30 JANUARY 1960

DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981 DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981

_The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death_

Tears were now flowing freely down my face, as I sank to my knees. "Mum... Dad..." I choked on a sob as it exited my throat. And that was when I broke. I gripped my arms and cried and sobbed. I heard people run up behind me, but I didn't care. I just ignored them.

Eventually I felt a hand touch my shoulder. I looked up, still crying, but the sobbing had subsided. Dumbledore was standing next to me, his face sad and knowing. I sighed shakily, and stood up. I allowed him to lead me back to the square, where a few of the students stood, looking up at the obelisk. But as we neared it the stone changed, and it became a statue of four people sitting on a park bench.

It was of a man with untidy hair and glasses, and a woman with long curly hair, and a kind pretty face. Siting in the woman's arms was a baby boy, in the man's arms was a baby girl. Both, free of the scars they now carried.

"This statue is visible to any witch or wizard who ventures near it." Dumbledore said softly.

I felt one or two more tears slide down my face.

A few moments later, Dumbledore lead me and the others back to the house. After that he apparated away.

Glumly, I walked into the room where I had left my things. My stomach dropped when I found Jason sitting in the living room talking to Erin. He grinned evilly at me as I entered the room. "Hey cry baby. You done having your mental breakdown?" Erin laughed at him like he was the funniest boy on earth.

I stopped dead. I turned to look at them. His grin only grew when he saw the tears still trailing down my face. "Jay, shut the hell up. Because, you know what? I am fully entitled to breakdown, considering where we are. Get over yourself, and leave me alone for once. That is unless you _want _me to set Zephyr on you." I then picked up my bags and left.

To my great disappointment, all the rooms were taken. _Did the professor miscount the rooms? _There was a staircase at the end of the upstairs hallway, I knew it probably lead to the attic, but I went up to check it out anyway.

I had been right. It was an attic. But a really nice one. There wasn't any of the insulation showing, the only thing that told what it was was the amount of space and the vaulted ceilings. I dropped my bags on the hardwood floors and left them and my trunk by the door. I walked over to the window, and opened it. After a quick whistle, My hawk flew in and landed on my arm. I gestured around the room. "Well? Think it'll do?" I said. The bird twittered. I smiled sadly.

I was happy to have the biggest room, but the knowledge of where I was still burned in the back of my mind. Pushing away the depressing feelings, I shut my eyes and spoke. "I'll take this as my room."

When I opened my eyes I gasped. The room had changed into the most amazing place I had ever been.

Half of the room had been made into what resembled a dance studio. The walls were covered by mirrors, and in the corner was a table with a stereo. The other half of the room had black carpets and black walls. The trimming and door were a deep emerald green color. There was a bed by the window with covers that were the same emerald as the trimming. There was a desk with a lamp and a bookshelf beside that. Both were made of a dark wood that I couldn't identify. The only other thing in the room was a couch and a bureau.

With a sigh I walked back to the door and picked up my things and brought them over to the bed. I paced them at the foot of it, and then collapsed onto the soft green coverlet. I was emotionally exhausted and was not going to be unpacking today.

* * *

><p>The next morning when I woke up my eyes were crusty and I still had tear tracks on my face. I sat up and yawned, rubbing at my face. When I reopened my eyes I saw the luggage at the bottom of my bed.<p>

Groaning, I got up and pulled my duffel bags onto my bed. Unzipping them both, I up ended their contents. Robes, jeans, t-shirts, jackets, shorts, tank tops, bra's and underwear. All of them spilled onto my mattress. I grabbed the robes and put them on the desk to be taken care of later, after that I folded all the rest of the cloths and put them in the drawers of the bureau. (except for the bras and underwear, which I just carelessly tossed in one of the smaller sock drawers.) Once done, I carefully folded the robes and placed them in the bottom drawer, which was the largest one. After that I shoved the empty duffels under my bed. I was just reaching for my book bag, when my door was thrown open.

"See girls, I told you it was hu-" Samantha broke off her sentence with a gasp. Her eyes quickly found me. "You stupid bitch! This was supposed to be our hang out! What the fuck have you done?"

I sighed. "Sam go away. This was the only room not taken as a bedroom. What was I supposed to do? Sleep in the bathtub?"

Erin smirked evilly. "Why don't you just go and live in your old home? Considering this is where you were born. Or better yet! You can go live in the graveyard and haunt your parents' tomb!" all three on them cackled with laughter.

The wounds in my heart that had been reopened yesterday still stung. And those words were rubbing salt into them. My eyes teared up, but I refused to let them fall. I glared at them. "Get out. I don't care why your up here, but get out. NOW!" at my shouting, Zephyr, who had been sleeping on the top of the bureau, woke up. He shrieked at the girls, and dove at them. The three girls screamed and ran from the room.

Walking over, I slammed the door shut and locked it. Afterwords I walked over to the plush green couch and sat down. I covered my face and silently cried. I felt Zephyr perch himself on my knee, but I didn't look up at him. He twittered sadly and nipped gently at my arm. Finally I looked up at him. His head was cocked to the side sadly and his golden eyes were filled with intelligence and knowing.

I reached out a hand and stroked the feathers on his chest. "Thanks Zeph." I got up, and looked at my discarded back pack. I shook my head. "I'm going for a walk..." unlocking the door I walked out. Reaching up to the top of the door frame, I felt along it for a key. Once I had found it I re locked the door.

Zephyr was sitting on my shoulder as I walked downstairs. Once outside I took a deep breath. _This is where I was born. This is where I lived... _

I walked around for hours, sometimes with Zephyr, other times I was alone, due to him flying around on his own. At one point I started walking on one of the streets that lead out of the village. Once at the end of the road, I considered walking out into the countryside, but decided it was a stupid idea.

When I turned around I almost fell over at what I saw. The last house on the road was what caused it. The Fidelius Charm must have died with James and Lily. The hedge had grown wild with ten years of neglect. The grass in the yard had grown waist high. Most of the cottage was still standing, though it was covered in a dark ivy, but the right side of the top floor had been blown apart. That was probably where the curse had backfired. I reached a hand up and ran my fingers over the scar on my neck.

After a moment I reached to open the gate, but upon my touch a sign rose up from the ground in front of me. And in golden lettering on the wood, it said:

**On this spot, on the night of 31 October 1981,**

**Lily and James Potter lost their lives.**

**Their son Harry, and their daughter, Lyra,**

**remain the only magical beings to ever have **

**survived the Killing Curse.**

**This house, invisible to Muggles, has been left**

**in it's ruined state as a monument to the Potters**

**and as a reminder of the violence**

**that tore apart their family.**

My eyes stung as tears began to well up again. I looked from the sign to the house. Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the gate and stepped onto the property. Feeling apprehensive, I shifted into fox form. Slowly I walked up the path to the front door, which still hung open. Stepping over the threshold I felt a shiver go down my spine.

I gulped back my fear, and walked up the stairs. Walking down the upstairs hallway, I headed for the room that was the most destroyed. Walking in, I realized that this must have been my parent's bedroom. The bed frame was in shambles and the mattress was only half on it. The covers were on the other side of the room, singed and moth eaten. By the destroyed dresser there was a white box on the ground. Walking over I nosed at it. It had a faint smell of water lilies and old parchment still clinging to it. I shifted back into my human self, I gently lifted the box's lid. It was a jewelry box. It amazed me that it had survived.

Reverently, I lifted an anklet out of the box. It had dozens of little sterling bells clinging to the delicate chain. When the bell's jingled, an image flashed through my mind. My mother and father dancing around the living room, the sound of laughing and of tiny bells filling the room with every step my mother took. I let out a shaky breath, and clutched the trinket to my chest.

The next thing I found in the box, was a pair of amber earrings, with a matching necklace. Another image: my mother dressed up for church, wearing these same pieces. I placed the items gently in my pants pocket, along with the anklet.

Next I pulled a pair of Celtic not drop earrings, and a Celtic ring with a single small white stone. And last was a gold plated watch.

Images flashed through my head this time as well. My mother's hand drying Harry's tears, this same ring decorating her finger, along with her wedding rings. My mother sweeping her auburn hair behind her ears, revealing the earrings. My father reaching to pick me up, the watch on his hand.

Tears flowed hot down my cheeks. "Mum... Dad..."

My mourning was interrupted by a rustle from the corner, I quickly put my parents' things in my pocket, and turned toward the noise. It was coming from the old comforter. Part of it was moving like there was something under it. Figuring it was a squirrel or a rat, I hesitantly walked towards it. Lifting the cloth a bit, I was surprised when an ancient looking cat crawled out from under it. It was an Egyptian Mau. I had seen younger ones in the store where I had gotten Zephyr.

The cat starred at me. Another image flashed through my head: Harry on a toy broomstick, chasing after the family cat. A name flashed through as well.

I reached out my hand. "Capella... c'mere sweetie." the cat inched forward, sniffing the air. "Capella... it's me..." I said softly.

The cat continued to sniff the air, and a moment later, she launched herself into my arms. I was surprised by the agility of the old cat, it was clear she was very near the end of her life. "I'm home girl..."

Capella jumped out of my arms and looked at me, then trotted to the door, flicking her tail for me to follow. Confused, I shifted into a fox and trailed after her. When she looked behind at me, her eyes held mild interest, but I could tell she knew it was me. Capella lead me back downstairs, and through the kitchen, one of the bottom cabinets was open. Peering in I saw a cat bed. I blinked in surprise, but quickly realized that this must have been where my mother had put it. The smell of cats was strong.

Capella mewled softly into the shadows. There was an answering meow from the cat bed. I morphed back into a human, just as a younger cat emerged. It looked like Capella, except instead of silver, she was tan, but still with the Egyptian Mau patterning on her. I realized that this was probably Capella's daughter. The cat drew back when she saw me. I reached out slowly. "Hey, you're fine, come on out, I'm not gonna hurt ya.." I said softly.

Capella meowed something at her, and the other cat's eye's got wide. She then briefly disappeared into the shadows. She returned with a small kitten in her jaws. Jumping onto the kitchen floor, the brown cat trotted over to me. She stopped in front of me, and placed the kitten in front of her, wrapping her tail around it, she looked at me.

I gulped, and reached out my hand again, allowing her to sniff it. The cat rubbed her head against my palm. I sighed. "Hey girl." I said, scratching behind her ears. She purred at me. There was a soft mewling from the kitten. I looked down. The kitten was a brown that was so dark it could have been mistaken for black. I smiled and stroked his small head. It was a very young kitten, his little eyes weren't even open yet.

Capella meowed at me. She was standing by the door. I got up to follow her. She lead me outside to the old flower bed. Capella stopped at the end of the bed and looked at something on the ground. When I got closer I saw that I was four kittens, even smaller than the one in the kitchen. They were dead. I gasped. I shifted into fox form, and sat next to Capella, nuzzling her shoulder sadly. The two of us sat there for a while. Eventually I stood back up. I knew Capella wasn't going to leave, so I went back to the kitchen. I found Capella's daughter back in the cat bed. Once she saw me, she walked over, her kitten in her jaws.

I couldn't help but feel that they were all like me. A broken family. Dead children, no father in sight, a grandmother at the end of her life. All that would soon be left were the two cats in front of me.

I was going to care for them. That was the thought that was lodged in my brain. I closed my eyes for a moment, before motioning for the she-cat to follow me. I walked out to the garden. Capella was still there, she looked up when I approached. I motioned for her to follow. The old cat just looked back at the kittens. I hung my head, sad that she wasn't going to come with me. But I lead the other two away none the less. I transformed before I left the gate. Zephyr was no where in sight, so I assumed he had gone back to the house.

I walked back, with the two cats following me the whole way. On the way home I decided on names for the both of them; the kitten I would call Nath, and his mother Maia.

* * *

><p>"That's so sad..."<p>

I nodded and stroked Maia's fur. It was a week later, and I had kept my promise, and let Sarah come over. "But sill, I'm glad I found them." I had just told her about how I had acquired my two newest familiars.

"Right..." she was silent for a minute, and looked at the other side of the room. Then, in an obvious attempt to change the subject, and the mood, "So, are you going to continue dancing here in England?" I nodded. Sarah giggled. "Do you remember when we took lessons together as little children?"

This brought a laugh from me as well. "Ya, hey, do you remember that time your mom walked in on us when we were practicing the waltz?"

The blond bent over with the strength of her laughter. "O-Oh my _gawd_! You still remember that?" I laughed with her and nodded. "Holy crap girl-" she broke off the sentence to allow for another brief fit of giggling. "- I think – I think my mom still has the video!"

this made us both laugh even harder. Sarah's mom and dad were purebloods but also much like Mr Weasley in the sense that they liked muggle things. Though, not on the same level. They had a TV, a video camera, phones, etc. But they didn't hoard, collect and obsess, like a certain red-haired man.

"Do you remember what she said afterwords?" I laughed.

"Are you kidding me?" she made a face, and imitated her mother's voice. "Why did you stop girls?you were so adorable! And such serious wittle faces! Oh, I thought you were practicing for your wedding!" Sarah pointed at the back of her throat, and made a gagging sound. "I thought we'd never live that one down."

"Same here." I chuckled.

Sarah stood up and walked to the table with the boom box on it. Pressing play, she allowed 'my heart will go on' to filter through the room. "Now remind me Miss Potter, don't you have two left feet?"

I scoffed. "I'll show you two left feet, little miss chicken legs!"

The rest of the day was spent like that, goofing off, poking fun, and basically, just having a good time.

* * *

><p>The next week I went to Diagon Ally and got my school supplies for school. And then I went home. I was a bit disappointed, I had been hoping to see my friend from last summer, Draco.<p>

Other than that though, my summer was un eventful, though Sarah did come over a few times. I exchanged letters with Harry, and waited for September first. I took care of Nath and Maia and slept and ate, and danced. I would visit my parents' grave every day.

I had taken to wearing two specific pieces of my mother's jewelry. The anklet and the ring. The sight of the ring on my finger whenever I would sit and read, and the sound of the bells whenever I moved; they comforted me, and made me feel closer to her. I wore them all the time.

Eventually, life in Godric's Hollow became bearable.

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><p><strong>hope you liked it<strong>


	6. Dementors on the train

Dementors on the train.

**Not much change, just hedge trimming on the OCCness of a character**

* * *

><p>I couldn't believe that summer was already over! Oh how I despise going back to that joke of a school! I wish my father had sent me to Durmstrang.<p>

Shaking off my frustration, I met Blaise on the platform. "You're late Draco."

I sneered at him. "Oh shut up. C'mon or else all the seats will be taken. And I don't much want to be forced into sitting with Parkinson. She's been a right pain recently."

My best friend laughed. "Sorry bout that mate. I know she's a bit unbearable." I shot him another glare.

Much to my irritation, it seemed that all the seats _were _ single compartment was either full, or the luggage rack was. Finally Blaise found an almost empty compartment. There wasn't anyone there, but there was a single solitary trunk up on the rack."C'mon, everywhere else is full. Besides if we're lucky it'll just be some first year and we can scare em off." I nodded reluctantly and took the window seat across from him.

It wasn't long before the train started moving, however the person whom had placed their luggage in here had not yet returned. I was about to comment on this to Blaise when I heard a rather angry voice from outside the open compartment door.

" -And if you so much as come near me again I will hex you into the next century! I am sick and tired of dealing with you insulting, not only me, but my family as well! Now get out of here before I am tempted to push you off this bloody train!" it was a girl. That much I could tell.

And it was made twice as obvious who the voice belonged to when a girl stomped into the compartment and slammed the door in a smirking boy's face, just before pulling down the blinds on the windows. Groaning in frustration, she fell into the seat beside me, her face in her hands. I noticed that although this girl was wearing Hogwarts school robes, and was clearly not a first year, she did not have a house tie on, nor did she have a house crest.

Blaise cleared his throat. The girl gasped as she looked up. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't realize that there were oth-" she stopped short when she saw me. Her frown turned into an amazed smile. "Dragon?"

Only one person had ever called me that. I recognized her now that she was looking at me. "Hey Lyra." I smirked at her, feigning indifference. Had I known that I'd ever seen her again, I wouldn't have been so open that time. Well, at least she was a pureblood.

She gasped, and pulled me into a brief hug. "Oh it's so good to see you!" I noticed that her British accent was still there, more obvious than before.

I chuckled. "You to, I thought you went to school in America? What on earth are you doing here?"

She smiled even wider. "Oh, you'll find out."

Blaise cleared his throat again. I rolled my eyes. "Lyra, this is my best mate, Blaise Zabini. Blaise, this is Lyra... Lark?" I had only heard her last name once.

She blushed but shook her head. "That's my middle name. I never told you my last name." she said.

"Oh. Well what is it then?" She bit her lip. And then the next thing I knew I was looking at a red fox that was trying to hide behind her own tail. I jumped in surprise. I did _not_ know she could do that. I frowned. "Alright, alright, you don't have to say." hesitantly she morphed back into a human. "So what was that argument all about? You seemed rather upset."

She groaned. "Nothing. I was just dealing with Jason. He's a royal git, and I'm tired of it."

Blaise frowned. "What started it?"

Lyra's face fell from irritation into sadness. "He made a snide comment about my mother being a 'mudblood'." she spat out the last word like it was acid.

I did a double take. "You're a halfblood?" _Bloody hell, my father'll murder me for sure if he thinks I fancy some mutt. _There must have been something in my tone, because she put on a defensive face.

"And if I am? Blood purity doesn't matter! My mum was the best in her year! Prefect and head girl! So what if she had non magic parents!"

I put a hand on her arm. "I'm not saying anything against it. I was just surprised. You act like a pureblood." I didn't know why I was lying to her. But I knew I didn't want to upset her. She seemed to be on a rather short, explosive, fuse.

She nodded, and was about to say something when the train lurched to a halt. Blaise stood up and looked out the window. "Why're we stopping? We cant possibly be there yet."

I frowned. "I don't know."

Lyra was looking out into the train corridor. Once she came back inside she shook her head. "I think we've broken down. Maybe -" she stopped her sentence and walked over to the window, trying to peer out into the dark, pushing Blaise aside in the process. "Did you see that?"

I looked out the window then back at her. "Lyra what're you talking about?"

She squinted. "There's something moving out there... I think, I think someone's coming aboard. You don't think that it's -" she stopped short when the lights went out. She tsked and a moment later I heard her mutter a spell. _"Lumos." _then there was light. The tip of her wand was what was giving it off. "What the bloody hell is going on?"

I was about to answer when the air started getting colder. "Now this is getting weird."

Blaise nodded his head in agreement. "Lyra, what in the world are you doing?" he said.

She looked over her shoulder. "I'm gonna go check it out. If you boys don't want to be left alone then by all means come along." she said with a rather annoying smirk on her face. She stepped out into the corridor, and just as fast stumbled back in, with a look of total fear on her face. She was pointing her wand defensively at the door. I didn't even have to look to see what was wrong. I felt cold seep into my body, and a feeling of dread and depression pass into me. My father had told me about this.

"Dementors..." I whispered. The one in the doorway was floating towards Lyra. I saw her go ridged, and her wand dropped to the ground. I could tell something was wrong. Blaise must have had the same feeling, because we both stood up. He shoved the creature away from the door, and I slammed it shut and locked it.

When I turned back to Lyra, it was just in time to catch her when she fell. "Lyra! Are you ok?" laying her on the seat, I saw that she had fainted. I grit my teeth. I knew Dementors were bad news, but this...

* * *

><p>There was a thick white fog swirling around inside of my head. Distantly I could hear screaming, and a baby crying. I wanted to help but I couldn't... the fog... it was-<p>

"Lyra! Lyra! Are you all right?"

Someone was shaking me.

"W–what?"

I opened my eyes; there were lanterns above me, and the floor was shaking, telling me that the Hogwarts Express was again underway. I looked around. Draco was sitting on the edge of the seat, he was the one whom had been shaking me. When I sat back up I realized that I felt rather sick. On my face I could feel a cold sweat. I let out a shaky breath. "Are you ok?" I looked at Blaise,

"Wha-what was that thing..." I asked. Draco let go of me, and I began to shake.

"It was a dementor. One of the guards of Azkaban prison. I don't know why it was here though." I nodded. And continued shaking. Blaise then seemed to realize just how shaken up I was. "Draco, wasn't there a teacher in Potter's compartment?"

He nodded. "Ya, it was probably the new defense against the dark arts teacher. Why?"

Blaise stood up. "Well considering what subject he teaches, he might know what to do for Lyra. She's pretty shaken up. I'm gonna go ask him.." he was almost out the door when I realized something.

"Blaise! Wait!" he turned around. "Don't say my name. My brother is on the train, and I don't need word of me getting to him, no matter how slim the chance." he gave me a weird look but shrugged, and walked out.

Draco looked at my shaking hands, then up at my face. "Lyra, what's wrong? What happened with that dementor?"

I closed my eyes and let out a shaky breath. "I don't know how, but... it felt like that thing was sucking away every good feeling I had. And then just when I passed out, I heard-" I broke off the end of the sentence, and bit my lip.

Draco turned my head with his hand so that I was looking at him. "Heard what?" his eyes were gentle pools of silver.

I closed my eyes and turned my head so that I was looking down at my hands, and at the ring that decorated the left ring finger. After a moment I shook my head. "It's nothing, for get it."He didn't seem to know how to respond.

It was a few minutes before Blaise returned. "Sorry I took so long, I had to duck into a first year's compartment to avoid Pansy." he grimaced. Walking over to me, he pushed a chocolate bar into my hand. "Professor Lupin said for you to eat that, and you'd feel better."

I looked at the candy doubtfully. "Really?" I said skeptically. But he just nodded. So I sighed and unwrapped the object, breaking off two pieces, I handed out some of it to the two boys. They nodded in thanks.

The train finally stopped. Draco and Blaise waited for me to stand and leave with them, but I shook my head. "I'm supposed to wait till the platform is cleared before I get off. don't tell anyone about me ok?"

they nodded and left. I reached up and heaved my trunk down from the rack. I saw beside where I had had it sitting was Nath. He had been apparently sleeping. I smiled warmly at the small cat. "Hey baby boy. I had been wondering where you were." I lifted him down from the rack and placed him on the ground.

Nath's mother Maia was back in Godric's Hollow. She hadn't seemed keen on coming with, so I left her there. She was free to roam around indoors and out. As for my other pet, my precious Zephyr. He had flown along side the train. Glancing outside the window I could see him roosting in a tree.

I waited about ten minutes before I got off. The only people there were my fellow transfer students, and a grumpy looking man with a cat standing at his feet. Nath, being the nosy kitten he was, plodded up to the older cat. I chuckled when he backed away shyly after the other cat had licked his head.

The man smirked, and then cleared his throat. "Right. I am the caretaker Mr Filch. I am to escort you up to the castle. Get in the carriages. But leave your belongings here on the platform. The house elves will bring them to your dormitories." he said gruffly, gesturing to horseless carriages.

* * *

><p>"Welcome!" said Dumbledore, the candle light shimmering on his beard. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few announcements and one of them is very serious, but first, we have nine more students that need to be sorted! As you all should realize, we are not the only wizarding school in the world. And this year, and until they graduate, we will be housing a few guests!" he waved his hands a the doors, which opened, allowing nine witches and wizards to walk in; a red-tailed hawk swooping in ahead of them.<p>

I was shocked to see my sister. She smirked at me as she passed, also flicking me in the back of the head.

"I am delighted to introduce you to the exchange students from the American school: The Salem Witches Institution for Magical Learning. They, like first years, will be sorted into our four great houses, but they will be from different years." Even from here I could see the mischief in our headmaster's eyes.

Professor McGonagall stepped forward, a small roll of parchment in her hands. "When I call your name, you will step forth, I will place the sorting hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your house." she looked down at the first name. "Abbot, Shannon!" a tall girl with brown hair and pink cheeks put on the hat and sat down. There was a pause, and then - "RAVENCLAW!"

The Ravenclaw table burst into applause.

"Dawson, Carly!"

"SLYTHERIN!" the hat shouted, the girl smirked in a true Slytherin fashion and walked over to the table that was now cat-calling and clapping for their new member.

"Dawson, Samantha!" she became a Huffelpuff. Along with "Fethen, Thomas!"

"Gamp, Erin!" went to Ravenclaw.

"Laurent, Jason!" became a Ravenclaw.

"Moore, Stephan!" became a Gryffindor.

"Yaxley, Darrel!" became a Slytherin.

And finally there was only one person left to call. Beside me Ron elbowed me, we shared a grin. My sister was about to be sorted. I was mad at her for not telling me, but the excitement was worth it.

"Potter, Lyra!" the room erupted into whispers as she walked forward and put on the hat. She sat on the stool, grinning like mad. I could tell she was just exited as I was. But the grin faded, the longer she sat there. I frowned. It was clear to me that the sorting hat was giving her the same talk it had given me when I was sorted. My excitement bubbled over as the hat opened its mouth. "SLYTHERIN!"

The Slytherin table practically exploded. A lot of them stood up, to try and shake hands with my bewildered sister. Marcus Flint threw a taunting smirk at me and my friends. My excitement had turned to confused anger, and I nearly got up and hexed the lot of them when she sat down between Malfoy and Zabini.

Dumbledore called for silence. He cleared his throat, "Now, as you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business." he paused, and I remembered that Mr Weasley had said that Dumbledore wasn't happy about the dementors being here. "They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds. And whilst they are here with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave the school without permission. Dementors are not fooled by tricks or disguises – or even Invisibility Cloaks." he added blandly. Ron and I shared a look. "It is not in the nature of a dementor to be understanding of pleading or excuses. I therefor warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no one runs afoul of the dementors." he said. And after another pause, he continued. "On a happier note, I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was some scattered rather unenthusiastic applause. Only those who had been in the compartment on the train with Professor Lupin clapped hard. I was among them. The new Professor looked particularly shabby next to all the other teachers in their best robes.

"Look at Snape!" Ron hissed in my ear.

Professor Snape, the potions master was starring along the staff table at Professor Lupin. It was common knowledge that Snape wanted the defense Against the Dark Arts job, but even I, who hate Snape, was startled by the expression twisting his thin sallow face. It was beyond anger: it was loathing. I knew that expression all to well; it was the same look that Snape wore every time he set eyes on me.

"As to our second appointment," Dumbledore continued as the lukewarm applause for Professor Lupin died away. "Well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year, in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than our own Rubeus Hagrid, whom has agreed to take on this teaching job in addition t his gamekeeping duties."

I and the rest of the room burst into applause.

"We should have known!" Ron laughed. "Who else would have assigned us a biting book?" Hermione Ron and I were the last to stop clapping .

"Well I think That's everything of importance," said Dumbledore. "Let the feast begin!

* * *

><p>The golden plates and goblets in front of us filled suddenly with food and drink. The feast was wonderful. The hall echoed with talk and laughter, and the clatter of knives and forks. I would have enjoyed it, and I would have talked to Draco and Blaise, but Darrel wouldn't leave me alone, laying on his vindictive 'charm'. I was eager for the feast to end. For more than one reason. I had a bone to pick with our dear headmaster.<p>

At long last the feast ended, and Dumbledore gave the word that it was time for us all to go to bed.

Draco pulled on my arm. "C'mon, I'll show you the dormitory."

I shook my head. "In a minute. I have something to speak with Professor Dumbledore. Wait a moment will you Dragon?" I walked up to the teacher's table and stood across from Dumbledore. He smiled warmly at me, but I glared daggers at him. "What're you playing at Dumbledore?" I said.

His smile faltered. "What do you mean miss Potter?"

I sneered. "Oh don't play dumb. Why did you send us to Godric's Hellhole."

His smile dropped all together. "Godric's _Hollow_, miss Potter. And I thought you might appreciate being in-"

"The same village where my parents were murdered? No thank you; I would rather not be in emotional pain every time I so much as look out a window." I snapped at him. I then turned on my heal and walked back to where Draco stood. Angrily, I wiped away the wetness that had sprung up around my eyes.

"You alright Lyra?" I nodded. "C'mon..." he turned and I followed him out of the great hall. "So why didn't you tell me that you were Potter's twin?"

I looked up. "Oh, that... I suppose I just didn't want the attention. I mean really, who wants to be famous because they're an orphan?"

"Right. Well, just so that you know what you're getting yourself into," he stopped and turned around. "I'm Draco Malfoy." he said.

* * *

><p><strong>reveiw plz<strong>


	7. Malfoy's arrogance and stupidity

**Hey people! not much has changed again, just a bit of charater editing. my issue with lyra hasnt come up yet, so for now its mainly just fixing OCCness.**

**sending out love and digital cookies to my reveiwer, Kenzieloveify, for continuing to follow this, even after i decided to revise it.**

**And dont you worry girl, i will be updating these pretty quickly, and then on to new stuff kk?**

**ILU reveiwers! :D R&R**

**Ja ne!**

* * *

><p>arrogance and stupidity<p>

* * *

><p>"So why didn't you tell me that you were Potter's twin?"<p>

I looked up. "Oh... that... I suppose I just didn't want the attention. I mean really, who wants to be famous because they're an orphan?" I said dejectedly.

"Right. Well, just so that you know what you're getting yourself into," he stopped and turned around. His tone sounded different from before, a bit harsher. "I'm Draco Malfoy." he said.

I froze, I could feel my eyes getting wide. "W-what did you just say?"

"Once I realized who's sister you were I figured out the rest of it. Your brother's never called me 'Draco', has he? In those letters that you exchanged first and second year." he turned around. The look on his face was shocking. It seemed caught between a bitter sneer, and a hurt glare.

My mouth was gaping open. "Wha- so- I mean- you're the- you- you're the boy that Harry's been complaining about? The nasty prejudiced little snake! Dragon please say that you're joking!"

the hurt vanished, and the sneer completed itself"I most certainly am not. Your brother and I never got along which is why I'm telling you -"

"That you're a right git who's been lying to me? Oh, I can't believe I was so stupid!" ice dropped into my stomach. I couldn't believe this! He had been- this whole time- he...

"Lyra if you would just listen-"

I glared at him. "What's the password."

His brows creased with confusion. "What?"

"The password, _Malfoy._" I said coldly.

Draco looked like I'd slapped him. "Parselmouth, why- Oy! Lyra! Where are you going!"

Once he said the password, I had walked past him. "You can either show me where the common room is or I can get my brother to show me where it is. And no I'm not going to tell you how he knows." I kept walking until I felt a hand close around my wrist.

"No, I'll show you where it is." He said in a rather neutral tone.

"Good. And you'll not touch me." I said jerking out of his grasp, without looking at him.

The next morning when I entered the great hall for breakfast, I made a point of not looking at the Slytherin table. I spotted my brother and his friends already sitting at the Gryffindor table. Smirking, I walked up behind them. "Budge up Ron. I would like to sit next to my brother."

The three Gryffindors turned around so fast I was almost worried about them getting whiplash. All three of them had accusations in their stares, but Ron moved aside. I sat down and grabbed some toast, and started spreading jelly onto it. "Before you all start yelling at me, its not my fault the hat put me in Slytherin, and as far as me sitting with Malfoy, well, I didn't know his last name until after the feast. It's Harry's fault really. He never told me what the git's first name was." I said shrugging as I took a bite from the toast.

Their faces lifted a great deal. Ron spoke up. "You realize that Malfoy is staring at the back of your head."

I smirked. Yes I had known. "Yes Ron, I'm quite aware. But I couldn't give to shits about what that oaf decides to look at."

"Lyra!" Harry exclaimed.

"What? I said innocently through the last bit of toast.

"A lady should not be talking like that!" Ron scolded.

I smirked at him. "Well sorry to disappoint boys, but I'm no lady. I am an independent young woman." I then stood up. "I need to get my schedule from Professor Snape. See you in class.." I chimed.

Our head of house was walking down along the Slytherin table, handing out schedules. I walked directly up to him, and smiled. "Good morning Professor, I was wondering if I could have my schedule?" I asked.

Snape looked at me like he was looking at a ghost, and then something seemed to snap him out of it. Skimming through the papers in his hands, he pulled out one and gave it to me. "Welcome to Hogwarts Miss Evans, er, I mean, Potter..." he swept past me

I stared after him. _And just what the bloody hell was that all about? Did he just call me... no, I'm making things up. My imagination..._

I walked out of the great hall, feeling Draco's eyes on me the whole time. When I looked down at my schedule I grinned. I had double potions with Ravenclaws first. I already knew where the potions classroom was, so I walked there. As I was early, I took out my potions book and began skimming through the pages.

After about fifteen minutes, Professor Snape walked in and went to the desk at the front of the room. As the potions master didn't seem to notice me, I coughed lightly. He turned around, eyes searching for the source of the noise. When his eyes landed on me he sneered slightly. "What are you doing in here?"

I chuckled. "Waiting for class to start. I don't much care for crowds like the one currently in the Great Hall. To loud." He looked skeptical but he turned back to whatever it was he was doing before. I bit my lip. "Er, Professor?"

He turned back around. "Yes?"

I lifted my hand and brushed my hand against my mother's earrings. I took a deep breath. "When you gave me my class list, you called me 'Miss Evans'…... that was my Mother's maiden name... I couldn't help wondering... did – did you know her?"

When I looked up to meet his eyes I saw a flash of something go across his face. "Many people knew Lily Evans." he said calmly before again turning to his desk.

_Right... _

Ten minutes went by before the bell rang. And my classmates began entering. Snape quickly set about pairing us all up to work on a potion. I scowled at the boy that now sat next to me. I pointedly ignored him as I got out the ingredients for the potion. "So I take it we aren't going to be friends then?" he said.

I glared at him. "Why would I be friends with _you,_ Malfoy? You're a pureblood supremacist. I hate people who're like that. Not to mention that being friends with you would only destroy my delicate relationship with Harry. That _and_ your a colossal git." I said

"Says your brother. Lyra, I've been nothing but nice to you since we met." he snapped.

"Even if that's true, there's still the little issue with blood discrimination." I hissed back at him. Venom was dripping from my words.

"Lyra, would you please just give me a chance to explain?" the look on his face was odd. He looked half angry, half upset.

I glared at him for a full minute, before I turned back to the potion and tipping the angel trumpet pollen into it. "The first Hogsmead trip is at the end of October. My brother doesn't have permission. I do. If by then I feel like you aren't as much of an ass as Harry has made you out to be, then you can explain."

His face dropped. "But Lyra, that's _ages _away."

"It's my only offer Malfoy." I said coldly. He fell silent for the remainder of the class. When Snape came by near the end of class to check our potion, he smirked.

"Perfect marks Draco." he was about to walk away when Malfoy spoke up.

"Actually Professor... I had nothing to do with this potion. I've been... sulking... most of class. Lyra made the potion." he said almost sheepishly.

Snape's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Miss Potter, have you made this potion before?"

I shook my head. "No sir."

"What were your marks in potions back in America?"

"Perfection, sir."

Snape nodded and walked away. "I think you just became his new favorite." Malfoy commented.

"What?

"Trust me. I've known him since I was born. He defiantly has pegged you as a potential favorite." he said. I rolled my eyes.

My next class was Care of Magical Creatures. So when the bell rang, I headed outside. I felt my anger spike when Malfoy followed, flanked by two oafs whom I could only assume were Crabbe and Goyle. Attached to his arm was a girl with a pug nose. I sneered at the girl, I didn't know why but just looking at her irritated me.

Harry with Ron, and Hermione, were standing a little away from the rest of the class. I walked over. "Hey guys."

Harry looked over to me. A smile spread across his face. "Hey Lyra. How were your first two classes?"

I scowled over to where Malfoy and his cronies were. " Class, I had double potions. It would have been wonderful, but Professor Snape paired me with Malfoy for the Angel's Trumpet Potion." I said rolling my eyes.

A frown appeared on Hermione's face. "Did he cause trouble?" asked Ron.

I shook my head. "No, but he was rather annoying."

"Isn't he always? Hermione asked. The boys chuckled.

Once the rest of the class had assembled Hagrid waved for quiet. "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me then!" he said leading us off around the edge of the trees. After about five minutes of walking we all ended up in an empty paddock. "Everyone gather 'round the fence here!" he called "That's it – make sure yeh can see – now first thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books -"

"Exactly how do we do that?" came a cold drawling voice. I turned to see that it was Malfoy who'd spoken. I frowned, and felt like I'd been punched. I couldn't understand why though. So what if I'd gotten used to the soft warm honey voice he always used with me? I had known he was supposed to be a bastard. Looks like I wasn't getting that Hogsmead date after all...

I turned back to the lesson. "Stroke the spine o' course!" Hagrid. He took Hermione's copy and ripped off the Spellotape that bound it. The book tried to bite, but Hagrid ran a giant forefinger down it's spine. The book shivered and then fell quiet in his hand.

"Oh how silly we've been! Malfoy sneered. "We should have _stroked_ them! Why didn't we guess!"

"I – I thought they were funny," Hagrid said uncertainly to Hermione, handing her book back to her.

"Oh tremendously funny!" said Malfoy. "Really witty, giving us book that try and bite our hands off!"

I shot a glare at him. "Shut up, Malfoy." I said quietly. I felt bad for Hagrid. This was his first class, and he deserved it to go well. However he was looking rather downcast.

"Righ' then," said Hagrid whom seemed to have lost his thread. "So – so yeh've got yer books an' – an' – now yeh need the Magical Creatures. Yeah. So I'll go an' get 'em. Hang on..." he strode away from them into the forest and out of sight.

"God this place is going to the dogs." Malfoy said loudly. "That oaf teaching classes? My father'll have a fit when I tell him -"

"Shut up, Malfoy." Harry said angrily, repeating my earlier statement.

"Careful, Potter, there's a dementor behind you -" his statement was cut short when I turned to my fox form and shot so that I was crouched in front of him, snarling, teeth bared, ears flat against the back of my head, fur bristled, glaring daggers at him.

Everyone got tense for a moment. But then Crabbe or Goyle (I didn't know who was who) sneered at me and tried to kick me in the side, to get me away from Malfoy. I didn't notice it until it was to late to dodge however, because I'd been so intent on Malfoy.

I closed my eyes and waited for the pain. But after a few moments I opened my eyes and saw that someone had stepped in front of me, causing the boy to stop his assault. I looked up amazed to see that it was Malfoy whom had stopped me from getting hurt. "She's not worth it Goyle. Just leave it." I stared at him shocked before he turned to me. "Get lost Potter. Or do you _want_ me to let him kick you?"

I glared at him and let out a small growl, before trotting over to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. I leaped up onto the stone wall just as our teacher emerged from the forest. Following him were strange creatures that I recognized as hippogriffs.

When I was little my foster father had magically painted a mural of such a beast on my bedroom wall. I had spent hours watching the creature as it flew around in the sky, or trotted around on the earth.

Hagrid had chains around their necks, and when he reached the fence he tethered them to it. Everyone except me drew back. I however just lazily lied on the stone, and rested my head on my paws as I contentedly looked at the creatures. They were quite beautiful, in my opinion.

Their gleaming coats, changing smoothly from feathers to hair; each of them a different color: stormy gray, bronze, pinkish roan, gleaming chestnut, and inky black.

"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid said proudly, beaming around. "So, if yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer -" no one seemed to want to. Harry Ron and Hermione, however, approached cautiously. "Now, the firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' hippogriffs is, they're proud. Easily offended, hippogriffs are. don't ever insult one 'cause it may be the last thing yeh ever do."

Behind me I could here a few people talking. I flicked my ears in annoyance. Malfoy and his two lackeys weren't paying attention. I could hear them talking in an undertone. I had a feeling that they were up to no good.

"Yeh always wait for them to make the firs' move." Hagrid continued. "It's polite, see? Yeh walk towards him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he dosen' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt. Right – who wants to go first?"

Most of the class backed away even further as an answer. I could tell that Harry and his two friends were having second thoughts. The hippogriffs were tossing their fierce heads and flexing their powerful wings; it would seem that they didn't like being tethered much.

"No one?" said Hagrid with a pleading look.

"I'll do it." Harry said

There was an intake of breath behind him. Two Gryffindor girls whispered at him. "No Harry! Remember your tea leaves!" _Tea leaves? What the bloody hell are they talking about? _Whatever it was, Harry ignored it, and climbed over the stone fence into the paddock.

"Good man, Harry!" Hagrid smiled. "Right then – lets see how yeh get along with Buckbeak." he untied one of the chains, pulled the gray hippogriff away from its fellows, and slipped off it's leather collar. The entire class on the other side of the paddock fence seemed to be holding its breath, while I just looked on contentedly. I saw Malfoy's eyes narrow maliciously.

"Easy, now, Harry." Hagrid said quietly. "Yeh've got eye contact, try not to blink... Hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink to much. That's it Harry... now bow..."

I felt bad for him. If I were in his position, I wouldn't have wanted to expose the back of my neck to the beast. But he did as he was told, giving a short bow. However the hippogriff was still still staring haughtily at him. It didn't move.

"Ah," said Hagrid sounding worried. "Right – back away, now, Harry easy dose it -"

But then, to everyone's enormous surprise, the hippogriff suddenly bent it's scaly front knees and sank into what was an unmistakeable bow.

"Well done, Harry!" Hagrid said, ecstatic. "Right – yeh can touch him! Pat his beak, go on!"

Harry looked as though he would rather do anything other than to get closer to Buckbeak, but he did as he was told. I marveled at his bravery. When he finally made contact with the creature, the class burst into applause. All except Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, whom I noted were looking deeply disappointed.

"Righ' then, Harry. I recon he might let yeh ride him!"

I watched the scene play out with amusement. This was clearly, far more than Harry had bargained for. Harry got on the hippogriff's back, and barely had time to grab it around the neck as the animal took off, flying once around the paddock, and then landing roughly on the ground.

When he finally got off, everyone (well, again everyone but Malfoy's gang) cheered. "Okay, who else wants a go?" Hagrid asked happily. Emboldened by my brother's success, the rest of the class climbed cautiously into the paddock, and soon people were nervously bowing to the beasts all over the place. I noted that one boy ran repeatedly backwards from his, which didn't seem to want to bend its knees. Ron and Hermione were practicing with the chestnut, while Harry leaned up against the fence. I transformed and went to stand next to him, on the other side of the fence.

"You did a good job." I said idly.

He smiled. "Thanks. But why didn't you volunteer? You didn't seem to be afraid of them. So what kept you?"

I frowned. "Because from what you told me about Hagrid, I was worried that he would have me do what he had you do." he looked at me oddly, clearly not understanding. I sighed. "Fly. I don't do heights Harry. It scares me to death. I'm a creature of the earth, not the sky."

He nodded. "Understandable."

I was about to say something else when I saw something out of the corner of my eye. "Uh oh, trouble." I said, nodding to Malfoy. He and his two lackeys had taken over Buckbeak. He had just bowed to Malfoy, who was now patting his beak, looking disdainful.

"This is very easy." I heard him drawl. "I knew it must have been, if Potter could do it... I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you?" he said to the hippogriff. "Are you, you great ugly brute?"

It happened in a flash of steely talons; Malfoy let out a high-pitched scream and the next moment, I had bolted over to him while Hagrid wrestled Buckbeak into his collar as he strained to get at Malfoy. The boy lay curled in the grass, blood blossoming over his robes. "I'm dieing!" he yelled as the class panicked. "I'm dieing, look at me! It's killed me!"

"Shut up already." I growled at him. It was his arm, there was a long deep gash in it. Cursing under my breath, I ripped his ruined sleeve from his shirt and used it as a tourniquet, too try and cut off the blood flow. Hagrid had gotten Buckbeak under control now and was rushing over. I pulled out my wand and pointed it at his arm. _"Ferula." _I said. Bandages shot out of my wand and wrapped around his injury.

At this point, Hagrid, whom had gone very white, picked up the boy and rushed him from the paddock. I heard him saying something about the hospital wing.


	8. The face of mine enemy

**Ok, so while there is some fluff at the end of this chapter, i've decided to ease up on the mushy in-touch-wtih-his-feelings Draco, and opt for a more reclusive version. also, From now on, lyra will not be as open-book-ish as she has been. she hides her problems far more than she did before i revised this. she will only divulge her secrets / problems / past when absoultly nessesary, accept for with one person in particular, whom she will continuously find to be the one person she feels ok with confiding in.**

**that is all**

**R&R**

**Ja ne!**

The face of mine enemy.

* * *

><p>Malfoy didn reappear in classes until late on Thursday morning, when the Slytherins and Gryffindors were halfway through double potions. He swaggered into the dungeon, his right arm covered in bandages and bound up in a sling, acting, in my opinion, as though he were the heroic survivor of some dreadful battle.<p>

"How is it, Draco?" simpered Pansy Parkinson. "Dose it hurt much?"

"Yeah." Malfoy said, putting on a brave sort of grimace. But I saw him wink at Crabbe and Goyle when Pansy had looked away. Beside me I heard an angry huff from Lyra.

"Settle down, settle down." said Professor Snape idly. I scowled into my potion. Snape wouldn't have said 'settle down' if I or Ron had walked in late. Oh no, we'd have gotten detention. But Malfoy had always been able to get away with anything in Snape's class. Snape was the head of Slytherin house and generally favored his own students above all others, except for Lyra, to whom he seemed indifferent.

We were making a new potion today, a Shrinking Solution. Malfoy set up his cauldron next to mine, so that he was preparing his ingredients on the same table as Lyra, Ron, and I.

"Sir," Malfoy called. "Sir, I'll need help cutting up these daisy roots, because of my arm -"

"Weasley, cut up Malfoy's roots for him." our teacher said without looking up.

Ron went brick red. "There's nothing wrong with your arm." he hissed at Malfoy.

Malfoy smirked across the table. "Weasley, you heard Professor Snape; cut up these roots." Ron seized his knife, pulled Malfoy's roots toward him, and began to chop them up roughly, so that they were all different sizes. "Professor," drawled the blond. "Weasley's mutilating my roots sir."

Snape approached our table, stared down his hooked nose at the roots and then gave Ron an unpleasant smile from beneath his long, greasy black hair. "Change roots with Malfoy Weasley."

"But sir -!" Ron had spent the last quarter of an hour carefully shredding his own roots into exactly equal pieces.

"_Now."_ Snape said in a dangerous voice. Ron shoved his own beautifully cut roots across the table, then took up the knife again.

"And, sir, I'll need this shrivelfig skinned." Malfoy said, his voice full of malicious laughter.

"Potter, you can skin Malfoy's shrivelfig." said the teacher, giving me a look of total loathing.

I took Malfoy's shrivelfig as Ron tried to repair the damage to the roots he now had to use. I skinned the shrivelfig as fast as I could and flung it across the table at Malfoy without speaking. Malfoy was smirking more broadly than ever. "Seen your pal Hagrid lately?" he asked quietly.

I was going to say something to him, but Lyra squashed my foot to shut me up. Ron spoke in my stead. "None of your business." he snapped without looking up.

"I'm afraid he wont be a teacher much longer." said Malfoy in a mock tone of sorrow. "Father's not very happy about my injury -"

"Keep talking Malfoy, and I'll give you a real injury." snarled Ron.

"- he's complained to the school governors. _And _to the Ministry of Magic. Father's got a lot of influence, you know. And a lasting injury like this," - he gave a huge, fake sigh - "who knows if my arm'll ever be the same again."

"So that's why you're putting it on." I said, accidentally beheading a dead caterpillar because my hands were now shaking with rage. "To try and get Hagrid fired."

"Well," said Malfoy lowering his voice to a whisper. "_partly_ Potter. But there are other benefits too. Weasley, slice these caterpillars for me."

I rolled my eyes and looked away. "Hey Harry," said Seamus Finnagan,leaning over to borrow my brass scales. "Have you heard? _Daily Prophet_ this morning – they reckon Sirius Black's been sighted."

"What? Where?" Ron and I said in unison, Lyra stayed silent but listened to him too, while still working on her potion. (She had always seemed unconcerned about it) On the other side of the table, Malfoy looked up, listening closely.

"Not to far from here." said Seamus, who looked exited. "Duff town I think. But by the time that the Ministry aurors got there, he was gone."

"Not to far from here..." Ron repeated turning to me and Lyra. In doing so he noticed Malfoy watching. "What, Malfoy? Need something else skinned."

But Malfoy's eyes were shining malevolently, and they were fixed on me. He leaned across the table. "Thinking of trying to catch Black yourself, Potter?" I wondered if he realized that provoking me in front of Lyra, and referring to me by our last name, was provoking her as well. He might as well have been talking to both of us.

"Yeah, that's right." I said offhandedly. Lyra elbowed me, but I withheld my grunt of pain.

Malfoy's thin mouth was curving into a cruel smile. "Of course, if it was me," he said quietly. "I'd have done something before now. I wouldn't be staying in school like a good little boy, I'd be out there looking for him."

"What're you talking about, Malfoy?" I said roughly.

"Don't you _know_ Potter?" he breathed, his pale eyes narrowing.

"Know what?"

Malfoy let out a low sneering laugh. "Maybe you'd rather not risk your neck." he said. "Want to leave it to the dementors, do you? But if it was me I'd certainly want to get my parents' revenge. I -"

There was a sharp snapping sound that cut him off. I looked at Lyra. She had either just been putting down or just picking up the glass stirring rod for her potion when Malfoy had mentioned our parents' revenge. She had accidentally gripped it so tight that the glass broke in half. I could see blood from her hand dripping onto the table, but she didn't seem to notice. She was to busy staring wide eyed at Malfoy. Shock, pain, and anger were painted across her face as she stood there frozen.

"_What did you just say?" _she breathed. But at that moment Snape called for attention. "You should have finished adding your ingredients by now; this potion needs to stew before it can be drunk. So clear away while it simmers."

I tapped Lyra on the shoulder. She was still frozen. I noticed that her hand was still clenched around the broken glass, and there was a small pool of blood forming on the table. I reached for the stirrer, but when I tried to slide one half of it out of her grasp, she gasped in pain.

* * *

><p>I looked down at the broken rod in my hand. I winced in pain as I dropped it onto the table. I could feel a few shards embedded in my hand. Turning my arm so that my palm was face up, I gritted my teeth as I dug out the shards.<p>

"Lyra?" I looked to my left to see Harry. "Are you ok?" he said glancing at my hand.

I grimaced and nodded. "Ya, hey, could you clear up for me? I need to fix this." I said glancing at my hand. He nodded, and I walked to the stone basin in the corner so that I could stick my hand under the water coming from the gargoyle's mouth. I hissed as the icy water hit the injured flesh. Once the blood was washed off, I patted my hand dry on my black robe.

Then with a little difficulty I dug my wand from inside my robes. (It had been my wand hand that had been injured) I was about to mutter the same spell I had used for Malfoy yesterday when he walked over. "Is your hand ok?" he said neutrally

"It's fine." he looked skeptically at the sight of the five or six deep(ish) cuts in my palm that were starting to bleed again. "What were you talking about earlier?"

He looked up to meet my eyes. "Hu? Oh, noting really. I was just trying to get a rise out of your brother." I noticed that his voice was back to the warm honey tone.

Looked back at my hand, and pointed my wand again. _"Ferula." _like yesterday bandages burst from the end of my wand and wrapped themselves around my hand.

"So you were the one who bandaged my arm?" I looked up at him as I put my wand back into my robe. "Madame Pomfery said that when I got to the hospital wing someone had bandaged my arm and made a tourniquet to ease the bleeding."

"Ya that was me. You getting injured was your own fault, but I wasn't about to let you bleed out on the grass. Now leave me alone. I'm still mad at you. Or did you forget that?" I said harshly, brushing past him to get my book bag. We had Defense Against the Dark Arts next.

When I got to the classroom the teacher wasn't there. Sitting down I took out my quill and ink well and was just reaching for the parchment when Professor Lupin walked in looking shabbier than ever but more healthy than he had a few days ago.

"Good afternoon." he said. "Would you please put all your books back into your bags. Today's will be a practical lesson. You will only need your wands." I smiled as I put away my books. I certainly wasn't a show off, but I did enjoy using magic, especially if I was good at it. "Right then, if you'd all follow me." professor then walked out of the classroom. He lead us all to a room that was easily assumed to be the staff room. The Professor beckoned the class to the end of the room where there was nothing but an old wardrobe where teachers kept their spare robes. As we all walked over the wardrobe gave a sudden wobble and banged against the wall. "Nothing to worry about. There's a boggart in there."

This statement did not make me feel any better. When I was seven there was a boggart in my dresser drawer. I hadn't known what it was, so I had opened the drawer. The next moment there had been a cold cruel looking man with a snake-like face standing in my room, wand out and at his side, filling the air with a cold cruel laughter. Even back then I had known of my past. I knew who that man was, and I knew that if I had to face this boggart that I would react the same way.

As Professor Lupin talked to us about what a boggart was, and how to defend against one; I ran through mental lists of possible excuses to leave.

* * *

><p>A jet of sparks shot from he end of our teacher's wand and hit the wardrobe doorknob. The wardrobe burst open. Angry and menacing, my godfather walked towards Longbottom. <em>"R-r-riddikulus!" <em>the boy squeaked. There was a loud noise like a whip crack. Snape stumbled he was wearing a long lace-trimmed dress and a towering hat topped with a moth-eaten vulture. He was also sporting a huge crimson handbag.

There was a roar of laughter; the boggart paused, confused, and then Lupin shouted, "Parvati! Forward!"

The girl walked forward, her face set. Snape rounded on her. There was another crack, and where he had stood was a blood-stained, bandaged mummy; it's sightless face turned to her and began to walk slowly towards her, dragging its feet, its stiff arms rising - _"Riddikulus!" _a bandage unraveled at the mummy's feet; it became entangled, fell face forward, and its head rolled off.

"Seamus!"

Finnagan darted past Pavarti.

_Crack!_ Where the mummy had been was a woman with floor length black hair and a skeletal, green-tinged face. A banshee. She opened her mouth wide and an unearthly sound filled the room, a long, wailing shriek that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. _"Riddikulus!"_ the banshee made a rasping noise and clutched at her throat; her voice was gone.

_Crack!_ The banshee turned into a rat, which chased its tail in a circle – _Crack! _Became a rattlesnake, which slithered and writhed on the floor – _Crack!_ A single bloody eyeball.

"It's confused!" shouted Lupin. "We're getting there! Dean!"

The Gryffindor hurried forward. _Crack!_ The eyeball became a severed hand, which flopped over and began to crawl along like a crab. _"Riddikulus!" _there was a snap, and the hand was caught in a mousetrap.

"Excellent! Ron, you next!"

Weasel leapt forward. _Crack!_ Quite a few people screamed. A giant spider, six feet tall and covered in hair, was advancing on the dumb red head. Its pincers clicking menacingly. I smirked as the idiot just stood there frozen. If he didn't - _"Riddikulus!" _ the spider's legs vanished; rolled over and over. One of the Slytherin girls screamed and ran out of it's way. It came to a halt I the middle of a few other people. Then out of nowhere Lyra stumbled forward. It looked like she'd been pushed. She rounded on whoever had done it; but when she realized that the boggart was going to most likely transform for her next, she turned to face it, a look of pure terror on her face.

She had her wand out and pointed, though she still immediately backed up, but not fast enough. _Crack! _Everyone stared wide eyed at the man that was walking towards her. He was wearing an elegant black cloak, and wore no shoes. His skin was gray and pale, and he had snake-like features. The only people who seemed to know who it was were Lyra, and the teacher whom was now rushing over. The man raised his wand, but not at Lyra, he pointed it to her twin whom had been standing behind her.

Professor Lupin stepped in front of the boggart. _Crack! _It became a shining white orb that hung in the air before him. _"Riddikulus!" _it became a cockroach, which Lupin laughed falsely at. The boggart exploded.

However no one was paying attention to that anymore. Everyone was watching Lyra. She was white as a sheet, and was shaking so violently that her wand dropped from her hand. I could here her breathing deeply, to the point of hyperventilation, and it was rattling. Potter reached out to touch her arm, but the second he made contact with her she seemed to snap out of it. She stood there for a moment, before turning on her heal and running out of the room. When she ran past me I could see tears running down her face.

She wasn't at lunch. Or the last classes of the day. I actually didn't see her until dinner. And even then, she was sitting with the Gryffindors. From what I could tell she wasn't eating. She just sat with her head in her hands. I could see her brother talking to her. Every now and again she would start to shake, and whenever that happened, the Weasley twin she was sitting next to would rub circles into her back. At the sight I felt a pang of jealousy shoot though me, but I ignored it. I had no reason to feel like that, and besides, she needed their comfort. I resolved to wait until after dinner to talk with her.

When dinner was dismissed I went and lounged on the black leather couches of the common room. It actually took a long while. More than half the Slytherins had gone to bed by now. I sat up. _Where is sh-_

"SAY IT AGAIN BITCH! I FUCKING DARE YOU!" Everyone turned around in shock. By the door Lyra had that other Slytherin transfer girl, Carly, pinned to the wall by the neck. Lyra was red-faced and angry. Her perfect lips were drawn back into a snarl and her teeth were clenched. A dark and poisonous aura rolled off her. Whatever Carly had said, it had pissed her off, for sure. "DIDNT YOU HEAR ME YOU FUCKING CUNT! SAY IT AGAIN!"

Her shouts echoed off the rugged stone walls of the now silent common room.

The other girl had silent tears running down her scared face. Lyra sneered at her and let go. When she turned to her little 'audience' she glared at us all. "What the hell y'all gawkin at?" she said. Then the witch turned and left.

Worried, I got up and followed after her. When passed the girl by the door I shot her a glare. I got into the hallway just in time to see the edge of Lyra's robe disappear around the corner. I ran after it. Coming around the corner I caught up with her, grabbing her arm. "Lyra... what was all that about? And during class...?"

I was worried that she'd yell at me. But she stayed quiet. And then, "Draco please just let me be..." she whispered.

I tugged on her arm, forcing her to look at me. "Lyra, I'm not going t-" I bit off the end of the sentence. Her eyes were red and puffy. Her cheeks were flushed. And there were tears cascading down her face. I now realized that she was shaking. She looked absolutely distraught. "Lyra... follow me..." I said quietly.

She didn't argue as I gently tugged her along. I lead her to an alcove not far from where we were. It was large, housing a suit of armor. I tugged her behind it, where there was an odd amount of space. The lighting was dim, but it was enough. I cast a silencing spell on the alcove before turning to the girl whom was still silently crying. I leaned against the wall for a moment.

"Ok, Lyra, whats wrong? Please, I hate seeing you upset, and this is ridiculous." I said softly.

For a moment I thought she wasn't going to answer me. But when she opened her mouth to speak all that came out was a sob. I frowned and pulled her into a hug. She gripped the front of my school robes and continued to cry on my shoulder. Her sobs shook her whole body. I winced a little at the pain in my arm.

After a while it seemed that her legs couldn't hold her up because they buckled. I caught her and gently slid us both to the floor.

I stroked her hair, surprised at how soft it was. "Lyra... everything's ok... I'm here... your ok... it's ok..." I mumbled to her. After what felt like hours, she finally calmed down. Although she didn't pull away. Actually when she released my robes, she snaked her hands inside them and hugged me closer to her.

"Why..." she said quietly.

"Why what Lyra...?" I said just as softly.

"You act so different when you're alone with me. Compared to..."

"Compared to how I act in public? I'm not sure really..."

"But why do you act so different?"

"It's complicated... but it's mainly because of my father." her only response was to hug me tighter. "Could I ask you something?" she nodded against my shoulder. "What happened today? With the boggart? Who was that man?"she stiffened and pulled away. But only enough so that she was sitting between my legs.

She moved her hair behind her. She then reached for her shirt collar, and pulled down the right side. "He was the same man that gave me this." she said soberly. I squinted through the darkness. On the space that her neck met her shoulder was a lightning bolt scar.

I looked at her sadly, and opened my arms. "C'mere Lyra." she leaned back into me, Burying her face into the crook of my neck. I sighed sadly into her hair. "So that's why you flipped out?" she nodded into my shoulder. "Why didn't your brother... I mean..."

"He doesn't remember."

"But you do?"

"Correct."

It felt like ice water had been dumped on me. _She remembers? That has to be awful... _I pulled her tighter against me. "How is that possible? Weren't you just a baby...?"

She sighed. I resisted the urge to shiver as her breath ghosted across the exposed skin on my neck. "I think it has something to do with me being an animagus. Because I was born with the magical ability to morph into a fox, I think it effected my brain. Because I have memories going back till I was barely a year old. Most of them are choppy and unorganized. Some of them I can only recall with a trigger of some kind. But I very clearly remember the night my parents were murdered."

I held her tighter. "I'm sorry..." I whispered. We sat there for a few more moments. "As much as I'm enjoying this Lyra, we should get back. It's way past curfew."

"Right..." she said getting up.

I stood up and stretched. "So, dose this mean we're friends?"

She turned around and gave me an appraising look. Then nodded. "I suppose... But just so you know, you're on probation."

Shrugging, I smirked. "I can live with that."

* * *

><p>I kept to myself the next few days. I didn't really talk to people much. I talked to my brother, and on occasion Draco. But other than that I was silent. I had taken to sitting by the fire with Nath and watching the flames.<p>

That's what I was doing now. It was about three in the morning on Saturday. I hadn't been able to sleep.

Behind me there was a loud yawn. I turned to see Draco walking over to the couch I was currently sitting on. I had to stamp down on a blush. He was wearing a white wife beater, that stretched delectably across his chest as he raised his arms above his head, and green boxer shorts; his hair was a mess, which he only made worse when he ran a hand through it. On his lips was a tired, lazy smile. "Couldn't sleep?" he asked as he sat down on the other end of the couch. I shook my head and continued to stare at the fire. "Lyra, are you ok?" I looked over to him. And forced myself to just look at his face. "You've been real quiet recently."

I looked back at the fire. "I know... I'm just kinda..."

"That boggart still got you spooked, hu?" I nodded. He sighed and scooted down the couch to where I was. He pulled me into a hug, which I automatically returned. I was surprised by how warm he was. "Lyra, everything's fine. That thing is gone and so is the bastard who killed your parents. You're safe."

I sighed and pulled away. "I know..."

"Then why are y-" he was interrupted when a small cat crawled into his lap and started purring.

I giggled. "I think he likes you."

He smiled and rubbed Nath behind his ears. "What's his name?"

"Nath. His mom is back home, her name's Maia."

"Strange names."

"Not different from yours or mine though. Constellations and stars. Nath and Maia are both stars in the constellation Taurus."

"Oh."

We sat in silence for a few moments before I spoke again. "Dragon?"

"Hmm?"

"You said the reason for your coin personalty is your father. Could you elaborate?"

He heaved a heavy sigh. "It's hard to explain, but the basis of it appearances. My father isn't exactly the best parent in the world. Ever since I could think coherently he's been shoving his beliefs down my throat. If I don't at least _act_ like I agree with them, which, for the most part, I don't, then I get into serious trouble at home. So, in public, I'm an ass."

"And why act different around me?"

He turned his head to look at me. "I don't want you to think I'm an ass."

"Why? Why would my opinion matter?"

he smiled. "I duno."

* * *

><p><strong>REVEIW PLASE!<strong>


	9. Realizing

Hey people. Look, I'm sorry I haven't updated recently. I've been on vacation the past three weeks. Also, this is a pretty short chapter, and it's not my best work, but it is important to the character development. Also, to those who haven't figured it out yet, Draco is ooc. I know that, but like he has said in the past, it isn't really his choice to be a world class git.

**Ok, so sorry its taking so long for me to update, I have tryouts coming up, plus dance class, plus finals are starting next week, on top of that I been applying for colleges, yada yada yada sorry. So now that I have time: here's the chapter**

Realization.

* * *

><p>For most everyone, DADA was the new favorite class. I didn't mind it, but my first love would always be the softly simmering cauldrons with their shimmering fumes. The wonder that was potions. Although recently it was becoming a pain. The news of the Snapeboggart incident spread like wild fire around the school. So as was clearly understandable, the potions master was less than pleased.

At the start of October however I noticed that both Draco and my brother were getting antsy; and the animosity between them was growing.

On the fourth of October I entered the library to find the two having a glaring match. Smirking at them, I leaned against a book case to watch how it played out. Harry and Ron were facing away from me, but Draco wasn't. I don't think he noticed me because of his concentration on my brother. I saw Hermione sitting at the table next to them, nose in a book, quill in hand. Harry grimaced. Ron seemed to be at a breaking point. "Sod off Malfoy! Just because you know that you'll lose the cup this year doesn't mean act like a prat, and take it out on Hermione."

Draco scoffed at Ron's words. "As if we Slytherins would ever lose to a bunch of Gryffindorks. I was just saying that the only reason we didn't flatten you last year was because your little mudblood pet went and got herself petrified. And by default got the tournament canceled." I felt a rage burn through me at the sound of the offending word. 'Mudblood' so what if she was? It wasn't a crime! "Maybe if she'd have died then it'd be worth it, but -" he didn't finish. I'd walked up and slapped him.

* * *

><p>There was a smacking noise, a sharp pain on the left side of my face, and my head was forced to the side. I placed a hand on my hurt cheek, and looked at the culprit. I was shocked at what I saw.<p>

A hand still raised in the air, bared teeth, a Slytherin crest, softly curling midnight hair, startlingly green almond shaped eyes holding a frightening amount of fury and spite. "You're despicable." Lyra hissed at me, before shoving past. I watched her go before turning back to her brother.

Potter's face was smug. Like the cat who had caught the canary. He was clearly pleased with my predicament. I rolled my eyes at him and walked after Lyra.

I found her sitting in the back of the library, with some kind of book in front of her. She had her quill out and was copying something down onto a small sheet of paper. I bit my lip and pondered what to say. I made my decision just as she got up and began putting things away. She put the stopper on her ink bottle and put that and her quill in her bag. She picked up her book and closed it. It seemed that she was going to return the thing. I chose this time to clear my throat. She whipped around, surprised. But upon seeing me, her face hardened. "I have nothing to say to you." she snapped at me, walking over to a bookshelf.

I closed my eyes and sighed. "Look Lyra I'm sorry ok?"

She snorted in disgust. "Why're you apologizing to me? I'm not the one you insulted and wished death upon. Tell me, do you also support the ways of Voldemort? Like I here your dear old daddy did?" she said acidly.

I glared at her. "Lyra you know I don't."

"Oh do I?" she laughed bitterly. I opened my eyes to see her standing in front of me with her arms crossed. Her eyes read death so I knew I was in serious trouble.

"What?"

"I'm _waiting_." she said shortly.

"For...?" She groaned in defeat, and went to get her things. "If you expect me to apologize to those three you can for get it. Scarhead, Weasel, _and_ Mudblood all need to grow up."

She had just picked up her book bag when she rounded on me. "No Malfoy; you're the one who needs to grow up. Do you even listen to yourself? 'Scarhead'? 'Weasel'? And 'Mudblood'? For one thing, making fun of Harry for his scar, is no different from making fun of me for mine! More to the point, it hurts, deeply. We got these by living through a tragedy, that's not ok to mock. _Ever._ For another, my own mum was a, 'Mudblood' -" she maid air quotes around the word. "As you so eloquently put it. And you know what? She was bloody brilliant! Head girl! Prefect! And I can guarantee that Hermione will be to! But that wouldn't matter to you now would it? All that dose is her damned blood status! You're an immature prat, Malfoy! So leave me the hell alone! I don't feel like dealing with you! Go be someonelse's problem why don't you?" she shouted at me. She then left, storming off in the direction I came from.

I slumped dejectedly against the bookshelf. I covered my face with one of my hands. I had really screwed up. So much for civil friendship. I had screwed it up as bad as I could. She was mad at me, she had already been prickly lately. I blame that stupid boggart.

I opened my eyes, and was about to leave when I noticed that she had forgotten something on the table. I walked over and picked up the sheet; it was a list, instructions actually. For a potion.

_Once base potion is boiling, add 3 Bat spleen(s), and stir counterclockwise 6 times._

_Add 1 Doxy egg, and heat until potion becomes an acid green._

_Allow potion to simmer for five minutes before adding a paste of 2 Leech(es) and 7 Fluxweed(s) and 1 Eel eye._

_Stir counterclockwise 4 times and then clockwise 9 times. Repeat twice._

_Add 2 teaspoon(s) of Flubberworm mucus, and then 3 Porcupine quill(s). Heat until potion becomes red._

_Add 4 sliced, and beheaded Caterpillar(s), and stir once clockwise._

_Add 1 Nettle and 2 Dragonfly thorax(s)_

_Heat until potion becomes pink._

_Add a paste of 10 Wormwood leaves._

_Allow to simmer for an hour, until potion becomes purple._

_Then remove from flame and allow to cool._

I frowned when I realized that I didn't recognize the potion. _Snape would know..._

* * *

><p>But of course, he wasn't there. I was now sitting in the Slytherin common room starring at the piece of paper.<p>

"Hey _Drakie!_" I had to keep myself from vomiting when I heard her voice. "What are you _doing_ over here? Sulking again are we my love?"

"What do you want Pansy." I said. _God she hasn't been here five minutes and I already have a migraine. Just lovely._

"Well Drakie," _stop calling me that already! _"I happen to know that you haven't met my new friend yet! She's the other Slytherin transfer girl. Her name's Carly. I thought I'd introduce the two of you. But remember baby, don't get to friendly with her." she grabbed my chin and made me look her in the eyes. "Cause you're _all mine._" the not-so-subtle seductiveness in her voice sent shivers down my spine. And not in a good way. _For the love of Merlin. She's barely thirteen and a half, how can she already have become this much of a whore? _I pulled away from her to look back at the paper. That was, before it was snatched out of my hand. I glared at Pansy as she read the paper. Her face became a condescending version of concern. "_Drakie!_ Why didn't you _tell _me that you were having trouble sleeping? I coulda helped you with that... the trick is to send you to bed _exhausted_ from your nighttime activi-"

"Not interested Parkinson. But what're you talking about anyways?"

The dark haired girl rolled her eyes obnoxiously. "Oh don't play dumb silly! My mum works in the potions department in St. Mungo's. I know this potion! Its the dreamless sleeping potion. A rather potent version to."

_Why would she need a dreamless sleeping potion?_ Without a word to Pansy, I took back the paper and went looking for Lyra.

* * *

><p>"Shit." I muttered. I had left the potions recipe in the library.<p>

"Such language from such a well thought of little whore. Now just _what_ has gotten into you?" I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. _10...9...8...7..._ "Oh, wait, let me guess. A certain boggart, maybe? Heard you had a mental breakdown during class," _4...3...2... _"Wow. didn't know you had enough human in you to have enough emotional capability to do that. What with you being a foxy little freak and all. Hey maybe that explains how you lived and your mudblood mother died along with that blood traitor you called your father. The fact that you really are just a freak."

"You say another word against Lyra and her family and we'll throw you off the astronomy tower ya toss pot." I opened my eyes to see Fred and George both with their wands trained on Jason, and both looking _very_ angry. By now I could tell them apart. There were several very subtle differences in them both inside and out. So I knew that it was Fred who crossed his arms and nodded in the direction Jason had come from. "Clear off." he said gruffly.

My fellow American laughed haughtily. "Make me, doppelganger. What could you possibly do about it?"

George raised an eyebrow at the doppelganger comment. "Do you really want to hang around to find out? You heard my brother, get lost." he said twitching his wand in a shooing motion.

"Hmm... no." Jason said, grinning cheekily. "Seriously carrot top, if you were actually going to curse me or whatever, you would have by now. And if you're all talk then that just shows how much of a pussy you and your fag brother are."

I saw the twins' grip on their wands tighten, and I could practically see the spells leaping into their mouths. "Damn it Jay, just leave already, or are you really going to stand here and make an ass of yourself?" he looked back at me, raised an eyebrow and shrugged before leaving, but not before throwing an evil mocking smirk at me. I looked at the twins, they relaxed once he was out of sight once more.

George walked over and touched my arm. "Hey, you ok?" I blinked at him. "Lyra, what's wrong?"

I shook my head. "Nothing I'm fine. Just tired." His forehead creased but he nodded.

Fred stepped forward. "Hey, the three musketeers told us about the incident with the boggart. We were all wondering what-"

I grimaced. "You two are ambassadors. Aren't you." they nodded. I sighed and leaned against the wall. "And what is it exactly that is needed to know?"

"The only people who seem to know who that boggart turned into, except you and the teacher. Harry doesn't even know. And you're behavior since then has got us worried."

I nodded but didn't answer them at first. "Its not important. Leave me alone please." I said quietly, before adjusting my bag on my shoulder and leaving to return to the library and look for my potions recipe.

* * *

><p>Knowing she would go looking for her paper, I returned to where she had been in the library. She wasn't there yet, so I sat on the table. Luckily I didn't have to wait long. She came walking back, a worried scowl on her face. I cleared my throat, causing her to stop dead in her tracks. I held up the paper. "Looking for this?" I asked.<p>

She barred her teeth at me. "Give it here Malfoy." she growled.

I smirked. "You know that facial expression is really unattractive." I said idly, holding out the paper.

She snatched it from my hand, glaring at me. "It's not supposed to be attractive."

"Right." I said, my grin fading. "So why do you need a Dreamless Sleeping Potion, anyway?"

She bit her lip. "None of your business Malfoy." she said quickly.

I had expected this attitude. "I wonder what your brother would think about it? Or maybe Carly? Or Pansy? Or even Daphne Greengrass. Hell if those three knew, then the whole school would know within the hour."

Her eyes grew wide. "You wouldn't..." she breathed.

I curved my mouth into a cruel smirk. "Oh, I would. So, you can either tell me, and it'll stay between us, or I can tell Pansy who that little paper belongs to." I said conversationally, as I got up and walked past her towards the library exit. I almost though that she'd let me walk away. But then -

"Nightmares." she choked out.

I half turned to her. "What was that?" her back was shivering. I saw her wrap her arms around herself.

"N-nightmares... every night, it's the same. I p-put silencing charms on my – on my bed curtains, b-because, I wake up screaming.." she sounded dangerously close to crying.

I took a step towards her, my arm reaching to her. "Lyra... I'm sorry... I..." I didn't know what more to say. Closing the distance, I hugged her from behind, even as guilt washed through me. "What are they about? When I was little and had nightmares I always felt better after telling my mother about them."

She shook her head. "This – this is different. Every night, its like I'm, like I'm back in Godric's Hollow, w-watch-ing, watching _h-him, _kill my mum and d-dad." she was crying now, I could feel her tears falling onto my arm, from where I had rolled up the sleeves. I closed my eyes and held her tighter. And when her knees buckled because of her shaking, I kept her from falling.

Picking her up, I took her to the bench and set her down. I then sat next to her while she cried, she clung to me.

When she finally had calmed down, I sighed. "I'm sorry Lyra. I didn't mean to cause you to cry. I just wanted answers. And I'm sorry about before."

She went slightly ridged. "Why." came her soft murmur. "Why is it that when I cry I somehow always find my way into your arms. You whom my brother hates, you who make stupid excuses to justify yourself. You who insult my family. You whom I should hate. You who's arms make me feel safe. You who's bipolar personalty has me spinning in circles." she sat up and looked me in the eye. In that moment I realized just how vulnerable and broken this girl was. On the outside she was a cool confident witch, who wore the title of Slytherin with pride. But still had the gall to be friends with a rival house. She was a quick tempered witch with unforgiving mannerisms. She was a calculating beauty who could wrap you around her fingers without breaking a sweat. But inside there was turmoil that I was barely even beginning to unravel. Because the inside was in pain, it was confused, it was scared, desperate for shelter. And that was only a small portion of it.

She stood. "I have to go." she said quietly. And then she stood and left.

I wanted to go after her, but the emotions that were rolling in her wake kept me seated.


	10. October 31st, In Memorium

**Ok, well here's the next installment of _The Brightest Star in Slytherin. _I hope you all enjoy it. **

**This chapter is mainly so that you can understand a bit more about Lyra and the way she works.**

**Ja ne!**

October 31st (In Memorium)

* * *

><p>I woke up Halloween morning to the sound of squealing girls. I sat up and pushed aside the bed curtain, yawning. All the girls in my dormitory were dressed in casual clothing. It was a Saturday, so it wasn't that unusual. But they were way to exited for it to just be normal. That's when I remembered. <em>Right... Hogsmead...<em>

I yawned again and stood up. I got dressed and left the dormitory after grabbing a bag from the bottom of my trunk, heading for the great hall. I sat at the end of the Slytherin table, pouring myself a cup of green tea, and grabbing a piece of pumpernickel toast. I could feel a pair of mercury eyes staring holes into me. I shrugged it off, and continued picking at my food. As the last effects of the dreamless sleeping potion began to wear off, and I became more awake and aware, my brain took in the full reality of today's date hit me. Choking back the bile that was beginning to rise, I got up from my diminutive, half-eaten breakfast. I then morphed into a fox, so as to draw fewer eyes as I left the meal. I changed back once I was out of the great hall, and walked quickly out of the castle.

I headed down to the lake shore, near the tree line. I stood there and starred at the calm surface of the water, only occasionally disturbed by one of the giant squid's mighty tentacles brushing the opencast water. It was a cold morning, and I hadn't worn a jacket or cloak, but my mind was to closed off from it all for me to notice the bitter cold that was nipping at my skin.

It was my parents' death-day.

_I wish I could have known them... all I have are broken-up memories. They were a beautiful couple. And I remember how much they loved Harry and I... but it's not enough...god, why did they have to... why did _he_ have to... why.._

No longer able to hold it back I let out a loud scream of hurt and confusion, before falling to my knees on the soft, slightly damp ground.

* * *

><p>I was sitting near Hagrid's hut when I heard it: a loud wail that was filled with pain and sorrow. It was a heartbreaking sound. For some unexplainable reason, my instincts pulled me towards the source of the sound, and before I realized what I was doing I had stood, and begun running towards it.<p>

When I reached the woods near the black lake, I slowed down. Listening, I heard the crying of a young girl. I whined and followed it to the treeline near the water's edge. Looking from behind a tree, I saw a girl, no more than thirteen, on her knees, hugging herself as she sobbed. A thick curtain of curling jet black hair hid her face.

My paws carried me from the trees, stopping about three feet from her. I couldn't understand why I was doing this. It could easily get me caught. And I couldn't afford that, I had to get into the castle. But none the less, I whined at the young lady.

She let out a shaky gasp, as her head lifted. I was shocked at what I saw.

Her face was stained slightly pink from where she was crying, and hr lips were parted slightly in a despairing frown, and the rims of her almond shaped green eyes were tinged red from the salt water irritating them.

But still those eyes... I could almost swear that I was looking at a teenage version of my dearly departed friend Lily Potter. The only thing that was different was the hair color... black... like James's and Harry's... And That's when the connection clicked. It was Lyra. The missing daughter of my two friends.

I whined again, taking another step forward. She sniffled and rubbed at her cheeks trying to dry her own tears. "W-what's a d-dog doing here?" she said to no one in particular. I whined in response. She looked at me for a moment. "B-but then, why should I be s-surprised? After all, y-you d-did just come f-from that forest..." her voice was becoming steadier. Clearly she was using me to distract herself. She took a deep breath, then patted the earth beside her. Cautiously I walked over and lay down next to her, a good foot away. She sighed dejectedly. "I suppose you're wondering what's wrong, hu Black?" if that hadn't been the color of my fur I would have panicked. "I guess the easy answer is that I miss my mum and dad. It's just that... it's worse today, because it's the anniversary of their murders."

_Of course... I'd nearly forgotten..._

"It was the worst day of my life." she said. "I was only a year old, but I remember every bit of it. 'Cause I have a photographic memory. I'm just glad that Harry doesn't have to deal with it. Harry's my brother by the way. My twin, although we don't look it." there was a bitter smile on her face.

* * *

><p>I just told a dog why I was crying. Why? No idea. All I know is it calmed me down. I sighed and stared out at the lake in silence.<p>

I was sick of being so damn weak all the time. Ever since that boggart incident, I had lost it. Seeing Voldemort, even if it wasn't the real him, it had broken through every system of defense I had against that memory. And when I tried to put my walls back up, I would have another nightmare, I would forget to take my anxiety potion. _Something _would go wrong and I would crumble. It was all I could do to not melt into a crying heap during the day. But at night, I would cry. I would fall to pieces. I hated it. And I hated Draco for always being there.

He was the knight in shining armor, come to comfort me. But that's just the thing, I didn't _want_ a knight. What I _wanted _was for me to have the capability to fight my own battles. I _wanted_ to be strong like I used to be. I _wanted _to not have those memories in the first place. They were the entire problem. No, strike that, what happened to my family. That was the problem. It wasn't fair, we had done nothing to warrant being orphaned, and my parents didn't deserve to be killed like they were.

But that's just the way that life works isn't it? It's unfair. As the saying goes: life sucks, then you die. Well ain't that the bloody fuckin truth.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone calling my name. "Oy! Lyra!" I looked up to find Harry walking towards me along the lake shore toward me. I waved to him. He started to jog to me. I noticed a loss of presence, and when I looked in the opposite direction, I saw a black tail vanishing behind a tree trunk.

When Harry reached me, I smiled weakly at him. "Hey bro, what's up?"

He shook his head. "Nothing, everyone's gone to Hogsmead. I figured you'd have gone with them. Why didn't you?" The smile I was forcing disappeared all together. I looked out at the water again, trying to keep from crying again. "Lyra?"

I closed my eyes. "You don't know... do you." I said quietly.

"Know what?" I could hear the frown in his voice.

I shook my head. "It's best I don't tell you. I don't want you to have to deal with it." my tone held an air of finality in it so he didn't push the matter.

But he did push another. "Fred and George told us about your boggart..." he tried.

"Not open for discussion." I said.

"But-" I morphed into a fox to cut him off. I decided to go back to the common room. It might be full of first and second years, but it was better than dealing with my fear.

It didn't take long to run back to the castle, but I was forced to morph into a human again long enough so that I could give the password. Once in I transformed yet again and curled up next to the fire.

* * *

><p>After a little while I must have fallen asleep, because when I next opened my eyes, I was half curled on the leather couch of the common room, with one of the blankets (usually folded neatly and draped on the back of the couch) was thrown over me. There was also an apparent dip in the seat next to me. Lifting my head and shaking the blanket off it, I looked up to find a rather attractive blond boy, reading a book, my kitten in his lap. Looking around I realized that the room seemed a lot darker. None of the lamps in the room were on, the only light was coming from the fire. And the only other person here, was Blaise, who happened to be sitting on the other couch opposite me. Obviously the Hogsmead visit was over, and it was also rather late.<p>

Blaise noticed me moving and looked up at me. He smiled lightly. "Hey Lyra." this caused Draco to look down at me.

"Oh you're awake?" Sighing I morphed. Once human again I sat cross-legged. Nath crawled from Draco's lap to mine; I absentmindedly stroked his fur. "Are you ok?" I didn't look at him but I could tell he was watching me carefully, and biting the corner of his bottom lip, as he had a tendency to do so when worried.

Across from me Blaise nodded his head. "Ya, you've had us a bit worried today. Why'd you just lave during breakfast? You've been missing ever since. Draco was absolute torture for all the complaining he did. You missed your date, remember?"

I dint respond, but I closed my eyes as a solitary tear trailed down my face. Beside me the couch shifted. I felt a hand touch my face as the thumb clumsily wiped it away. I opened my eyes to see Draco half kneeling on the couch looking worried. "Lyra...?"

I closed my eyes again. "It's the thirty-first of October." I said quietly.

"What?" I heard Blaise mutter in confusion.

I pulled my wand out of my robes, I pointed it vaguely in the direction of the girls' dormitory. _"Accio" _I don't know what made me do it, all that happened was me, numbly summoning my Pensieve. When it stopped in front of me I placed the tip of my wand on the space between my eyebrows. Closing my eyes I mentally pushed my horrid dreams and memories towards that space, and then I gently tugged them from my brain, using my wand as the hook. As I felt them leave my head I let out a short breath, opening my eyes in time to see them drift down into the metal basin. Unlike other memories that I had placed in it, which were always silvery and had a pleasant feeling abut them, these few were a dark shade of sinister gray, occasionally a flicker of electric green would pass through them. And when they hit the basin's surface, they expanded and the watery surface was black. I flinched away from it. I noticed the boys watching me strangely. I motioned to it with a shaky hand. "My fear. My pain. My first Halloween. My shattered and dead heart. The explanations all rest in those memories. Although I wouldn't want to curse anyone with them, the decision is yours..." I said quietly. I then looked back down at my cat. I didn't care anymore, it was just a relief to have those out of my head. Though their shadows and scars still lurked back.

From the edge of my vision I saw the boys hesitantly step forward.

* * *

><p><em>Blaise and I fell into what felt like a cross between a dream and a reality. Looking around I saw that we were in a living room, the curtains were drawn back to reveal a dark yard, and jack-o-lanterns decorating some of the nearby houses. In the room, were a few maroon couches, and a few moving pictures decorated the walls. There was also a man who very much resembled Harry Potter, glasses and all, he was making puffs of colored smoke erupt lazily from the tip of his wand. It was clearly for the amusement of the small black-haired boy in his blue pajamas. The child was laughing as a small fox kit continued to jump at the smoke biting, and pawing at it.<em>

_I nudged Blaise with my arm, sharing a glace, I knew he understood just as well as I did where we were and who the man was. It was Lyra and Harry's father. I smiled lightly at the fox attacking the smoke._

_A door opened and their mother entered, her long dark red hair curling and falling in her face in the same exact way that Lyra's would in the future. Her face was almost identical to her daughter's as well._

"_James, come on now dear, why are you getting them riled up before I send them to bed? Now it'll take forever to get them to sleep." she said in a gently chastising voice._

_Her husband smiled apologetically, scooping up his children and handing them to their mother. He then threw his wand down upon the sofa and stretched, yawning. When he was finished, he smiled at his wife. "So shall we put them to bed then darling? Because I do believe I'll join them. I'm exhausted."_

_Lily Potter giggled. "From what? All you've done this evening is had out candy to trick-or-treaters."_

_James was about to reply, but a loud bang from the hallway cut him off. He ran out the door and into the hall, I saw his face pale. My smile dropped. "Lily, take the twins and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!"_

Oh god, to think she would remember all this in such detail... it was no wonder she'd been so messed up recently. But her father... he hadn't even picked up his wand... how was he to protect his family?

_Blaise and I followed Lily as she bolted up the stairs, Lyra peaking over her shoulder. I stopped to look long enough to see the curse cast by the same man whom had appeared as Lyra's boggart._

"Avada Kedavra!"_ Green light filled the hallway. It lit the pram pushed against the wall, it made the banisters glare like lighting rods, and James Potter fell like a marionette whose strings were cut..._

_Upstairs his wife was screaming._

_I ran towards the source, unsure of whether or not I could, I passed through the door. The red-haired widow stood in front of the crib, her children still in her arms, tears streaming down her face. I stood on the other side of the bed with Blaise. We watched as she tried to barricade the door. I felt like throwing up knowing the woman's fate. We watched as the door and the chair and boxes were blasted away; watched as Mrs Potter dropped her son and daughter into the crib she stood in front of, then threw her arms wide, like it would help. Like shielding them from sight she hoped to be chosen instead..._

"_Not Lyra, not Harry, please not them!"_

"_Stand aside, you silly girl... stand aside, now."_

_I admired her courage, trying in vain to beg for mercy. It was easy to guess where Lyra's brother got his blind courage from. "Not my children, please no, take me, kill me instead -"_

"_This is my last warning -"_

"_Not them! Please... have mercy... have mercy... Not Harry, or Lyra! Please – I'll do anything -"_

"_Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!"_

_When she again refused, green light filled the room accompanied by a scream, and like her husband Lily Potter dropped. The twins had not cried this whole time: Harry could stand, clutching the bars of the crib, Lyra however was biting her brother's shirt, trying to pull him away, a wild fear in her childish eyes. But Harry payed her no mind, he had not seen his father die; he looked up into the intruder's face with a kind of bright interest, perhaps thinking that it was their father who hid beneath the hood of the cloak, making more pretty lights, and that their mother would pop up at any moment, laughing._

_Voldemort pointed his wand directly at the two children, as if he wanted to destroy both at one time._

_Harry began to cry. He had seen that the man was not James. Lyra's attempts to drag her brother away grew more and more desperate._

_Green light shot around the room, I heard the screams of two children, and then it went black._

* * *

><p><em>The scene changed to a large green bedroom the door was open and a little girl no older than six was standing there, hand on the doorknob, starring with wide eyes at the dresser drawer, which was rattling.<em>

_It was Lyra again._

_She walked forward, and without ceremony, pulled open the drawer. There was a loud crack as she fell back. When she opened her eyes Voldemort was standing in front of her. She didn't do the expected, and timidly ask who he was, no, she just screamed in terror. It was clear that she knew who it was, even if only vaguely. The boggart raised it's wand at her. But her screaming had drawn her foster parents._

_The man was shouting an incantation, and the woman had rushed forward to hold the young girl, who was now sobbing her little heart out. Through her tears I heard a few words. Mom... Dad... want... miss... _

_I felt like I would cry to._

* * *

><p><em>More moments flashed before us. She was crying in front of her parents' grave, standing in front of an old and destroyed house. The boggart from class, it finally slowed when it flashed to that night when she had screamed at Carly.<em>

_She was walking down into the dungeons towards the common room when the girl appeared from nowhere. "Well, well, well..." she said in an irritatingly condescending voice very reminiscent of Pansy's. "If it isn't the little cry-baby." Lyra's jaw tightened but she said nothing, only walked faster. "What's wrong little mutt? Too good to talk to me? Well if that's the way you think, then I can list _quite_ a few reasons why _I _am too good to talk to _you_. For one thing, I'm richer than you, and smarter, and prettier, more popular, a better witch..." it went on and on, shit spewing from her mouth all the way to the common room. Just as they walked through the door, she sealed her fate with her final words. "- and my parents are alive, my brother isn't a moron, unlike your mudblood mother, mine was pureblood -"_

_It happened so fast that if I'd blinked then I would have missed it. In an instant Lyra had the other girl pinned to the wall by he neck, a snarl on her face. Up closer like I was, it looked like Lyra was halfway to transforming. Her canine teeth were elongated a bit as well as slightly curved and sharpened. Her hair seemed to be a deep red rather than jet black, her eyes were dilated and a bit darker than usual, she seemed shorter, and on her hand her nails were elongating and darkening into claws. Her shoulders were narrower to. The hair on her arms was bristling and darkening just a bit._

"_SAY IT AGAIN BITCH! I FUCKING DARE YOU!" when she didn't it only seemed to anger her more. "DIDNT YOU HEAR ME YOU FUCKING CUNT! SAY IT AGAIN!" _

* * *

><p><em>And then it melted into a different scene yet again. Except this one was clearly a dream. Lyra was walking down a dark foggy lane. And then she stopped. Just ahead of her was her brother to his left were his two lackeys. And then to his right was a short strawberry blonde girl with a cheerful face. And next to her stood dream versions of Blaise and myself. All standing in a circle around her. The mist was gone, and so was the lane, it was just a black space.<em>

_And then there was a flash of green, and Granger's body fell dead to the ground. Lyra let out a gasp of horror. And then another flash. Weasley fell next. "No..." she breathed shakily, taking a step forward. Only to turn around when a flash was behind her. "Blaise!" her voice cracked, and she reached for him. The flashes, which had been increasing in speed shot down the unknown blonde. "Sara!" she shouted._

_Lyra's breath was coming more heavily now, the only two left were her brother and I. She looked helpless as she looked between the two of us._

_The death stopped for a moment. _

_She looked at me. "Draco..." she whispered breathlessly. And then her body went ridged as I to was struck down. She made a short strangled squeak, and she tears broke through, her breath was shaky at best as she mechanically turned to her twin._

_She started to run practically in slow motion to him, her arm reached out to him. "HARRY!" she screamed as the boy fell to the same curse that had killed her parents. She screamed, and tripped. When she looked up it was because of the sinister laughter filling the air. Voldemort stood in place of her brother._

_Tears pouring down her face, Lyra grit her teeth and began to stand up. When she was kneeling, I heard her speak, her voice steady and slowly rising in volume. "You bastard... you murdered them... You monster! I'LL KILL YOU!" and then it all went black._

* * *

><p>And just like that I fell back out of Lyra's memories; collapsing on the couch. I looked at the girl next to me. She was singing while looking at the fire. I didn't get it... if I were in her position I would be in pieces. <em>How dose she do it?<em>

I looked at Blaise. He appeared as lost as I was. I looked back at her. She was still singing.

"- the future's open wide,

beyond believing.

To know why...

hope dies.

And losing what was found,

a world so hollow.

Suspended in a compromise.

The silence of this sound,

is soon to follow.

Somehow.

Sundown.

And finding answers,

is forgetting all of the questions,

we called home.

Passing the graves of the unknown.

As reason clouds my eyes,

with splendor fading.

Illusions of the sunlight.

A reflection of a lie,

will keep me waiting.

With love gone, for so long.

And this day's ending.

It's the proof of time,

killing all the faith I know.

Knowing that faith is all I hold...

And I've lost who I am.

And I cant understand,

why my heart is so broken.

Rejecting your love.

Without, love gone wrong;

lifeless words carry on.

But I know,

all I know,

is that the end's beginning.

Who I am from the start.

Take me home to my heart.

Let me go, and I will run,

I will not be silent.

All this time, spent in vain.

Wasted years,wasted gain.

All is lost, but hope remains.

And this war's not over.

There's a light,

there's a sun.

Taking all the shattered ones,

to a place, where we belong.

And his love will conquer all.

And I've lost who I am.

And I cant understand,

why my heart is so broken.

Rejecting your love.

Without, love gone wrong;

lifeless words carry on.

But I know,

all I know,

is that the end's beginning.

Who I am from the start.

Take me home to my heart.

Let me go, and I will run,

I will not be silent.

All this time, spent in vain.

Wasted years,wasted gain.

All is lost, but hope remains.

And this war's not over.

There's a light,

there's a sun.

Taking all the shattered ones,

to a place, where we belong.

And his love will conquer all.

And his love will conquer all...

Yesterday I died,

tomorrow's bleeding.

I fall into your sunlight..."

As she finished, she sighed and stood, her cat cradled in her arms. "I'm going to bed..." she said quietly. She flicked her wand at the basin so that it followed her.

When she was gone I looked at my best friend. "How dose she do it mate? She should be in pieces..."

His face was sad before, now it only drooped more. "I think she is Drake. Just not visibly. I think that was her way of telling us that. Her way of asking for help..."

I sighed. He was right.

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><p><strong>Hope you liked it. Please review.<strong>

**Ja ne!**


	11. Christmas in the air pt1

**There is a random mini spoiler in the middle of this chapter for absolutely no reason. You were warned.**

* * *

><p>The next morning when I walked into the great hall I was jumped by a group of Gryffindors.<p>

Harry and his friends dragged me over to their table, and sat me in the middle of them. They all were talking at once, mostly in worried tones, but also in angry ones. It was giving me a headache. "Stop!" they all looked at me. "One. At. A. Time." I pointed to Harry. "Go."

"Where were you last night? We were all worried!"

I frowned. "I was in the Slytherin common room, asleep. So what if I wasn't at the feast?"

Hermione shook her head. "They sent all the students back to the great hall after the attack on the Fat Lady."

My confused frown deepened. "I guess they just didn't see me. I was sleeping as a fox on the hearth. And what attack? What happened?"

Fred was the one who spoke next. "Sirius Black tried to get into Gryffindor tower last night. When the Fat Lady wouldn't let him through, he slashed her painting. It happened during the feast so no one knew about it until it was over. Dumbledore sent all the students back to the great hall while they searched the castle." _Blaise and Draco didn't tell me about that..._

"Did they find him?" They all shook their heads. "Splendid." I said sarcastically.

* * *

><p>For the next few days, the school spoke of nothing but Sirius Black the theories about how he had entered the castle became wilder and wilder; Harry told me that a girl named Hannah Abbott, had spent much of their next Herbology class telling anyone who would listen, that Black could turn into a flowering shrub. I myself had heard a Slytherin first year in the library talking about how he had snagged an invisibility cloak. And then the more naive of the Ravenclaws, speculated that the informant Peeves the Poltergeist was actually the culprit, and that Black had never been there.<p>

"Dammit!" Harry growled, slamming his fist down on the table, causing me to jump in surprise. I had been studying in the library, and hadn't heard him approach.

I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. "What's up?"

Harry looked exceptionally angry. "Slytherin is messing with our playing strategy. They've told us last minute that they cant play us in the up coming match. Saying that their seeker's arm is hurt. There is _nothing_ wrong with Malfoy's arm! So now we're playing Huffelpuff. They have a completely different style from Slytherin! So they're not the ones we've been training to go against!"

_Oh, Quidditch. _I rolled my eyes. "Well look at it this way." I said turning a page in the book I had in front of me. "Huffelpuff is just as unprepared as Gryffindor. Use it to your advantage." I said absently as I wrote down a few notes. "And forget Malfoy. He's just trying to get under your skin. You know that better than I do."

Harry nodded his head. "Snape is subbing for Professor Lupin today."

I nodded to the book in front of me. "I know this is his essay I'm writing. I heard he gave you a rough time today."

Harry nodded. "Ya. He even called Hermione an insufferable know it all."

"So the rumors say."

He looked at the papers in front of me. "I thought Snape only said two rolls of parchment?" I nodded. "You've got four and a half, and your handwriting's smaller than 'Mione's" I nodded again. "Why?"

I snorted. "You think that Hermione's the only one obsessed with grades? I usually do twice the work she dose. I just don't boast about my knowledge." I said as I finished up the essay. "I'm going to go turn this in." I told him as I put my things back in my bag. Then I stood and grabbed my papers. "Put that book away for me would you?"he rolled his eyes and nodded.

I walked down into the dungeons to Snape's office, the door was ajar, peeking inside I saw him looking sadly at an unframed picture lying in front of him on his desk. I pushed the door open and cleared my throat. I noticed that he immediately covered the picture with his hand. I smiled brightly at him. "Hello Professor, I just stopped by to give you my werewolf essay." I said holding it out to him.

His black eyes narrowed. "I only assigned this to you an hour ago." his voice held an air of suspicion. I ignored it, shrugging.

"I had a bit of previous knowledge. That and I don't like wasting time."

This time he took the papers. When he noticed how many here were he sneered at me. "Going after Ms Granger's spot as the school know it all I see."

I frowned. "No sir, I just wanted to do a sufficient job. And if it takes almost five pages for it to be good enough in my eyes then so be it."

* * *

><p>I dismissed the girl so that I could grade her essay, but she didn't budge. I looked back up and glared at her. Although this was rather difficult, considering the face she wore. It wasn't accusing, it wasn't angry, it wasn't annoyed, it wasn't condescending. It was a very unslytherinly expression. It was soft, confused, piteous, sad, but still kind.<p>

"Professor?" I raised my eyebrows. "What is it that you have against my brother and his friends? Why do you seem to hate him so? I mean its weird 'cause you don't seem to have any issue with me." her voice matched the expression she wore.

But the question she posed was infuriating. "Get out Potter." I hissed at her. I saw hurt flash through her eyes, but she nodded and quietly exited my office, closing the door with a soft click.

When she was gone, I lifted my hand from where it rested on the old photo.

The picture's colors were a bit faded, but none the less you could still see two young people. A boy with long greasy black hair, and coal black eyes, his arm slung around the shoulders of a red haired young beauty. Her hair curled softly around her angelic face, with her amazingly green eyes.

I sighed. "Lily, why dose she have to be so much like you?"

* * *

><p>The day of the Quidditch match it was thundering and raining, and the wind was howling fiercely. I caught up with my brother in the great hall. "Hey, Harry." I said grabbing the sleeve of his Quidditch robes. He turned to look at me questioningly. "Are you gonna be ok? I mean you don't weigh much, and that wind..."<p>

He chuckled, and smiled at me. "I'm not the seeker for nothing Lyra. I'll be fine." he said lightly his green eyes shining with amusement.

Reassured, I rolled my eyes and followed him to eat breakfast at the Gryffindor table. The first few times I had done this it had been like the world had stopped. But now it was just an accepted thing that there was in fact, a Gryffindor friendly Slytherin. And it had become part of the social norm for me to sit with the Gryffindors during meals a few times a week.

When we were all finished eating I hugged Harry and wished him luck, before covertly went with Draco and Blaise (and Blaise's nice big green and black umbrella) out to the pitch. "Hey boys."

Draco smiled. "Hey Lyra, how was breakfast with the Gryffindorks?"

I rolled my eyes and put my hand on his shoulder, using my grip as leverage to jump onto his shoulder when I turned into a fox and stretched across his shoulders, wrapping my tail around his neck. It was cold enough to the point where I knew I would need my fur's insulation. (and stealing body heat from Draco was not against my principles) once we were in our seats in the stands we forgot the umbrella and I changed back to normal so I could cheer on Gryffindor in English, and not get my fur soaked.

It was raining cats and dogs but the stands were still packed. Gryffindor was down by fifty points so far but I was cheering none the less. Harry had been flying with a bit of difficulty so far, my first guess was it was probably his glasses and the rain making it hard to see. However after his team called for a timeout, he had been flying much more smoothly. It was when he and the Huffelpuff seeker were up in the clouds when the problem arose. I was jumping and cheering in the stands when I felt it. A cold icy feeling that had nothing to do with the rain was creeping over the stands. Cheering faltered as spirits were dampened by the ominous presence of dementors. A large group of them were gathered in the center of the pitch, while several others were in the stands attacking. At least three or four quickly found me, and a damp white fog filled my head, while freezing water flowed inside me, turning my blood to ice and depression seeped into my bones.

I heard the memories of my mother being killed playing in my head, and the last thing I saw before passing out was Harry falling from the clouds, down to earth.

* * *

><p>When I awoke, my eyes opened to a sight I never thought I'd see. Draco and Harry so close as they leaned over me that the tops of their heads were butted together. They looked like they were butting heads. It was do comical that I actually outright laughed. The boys sighed in relief and leaned back and away from one another. And then glared at one another.<p>

Groaning I sat up, Draco automatically reached towards me to help me sit up. Had I been normal, I would have been blushing like mad because of his hand lingering on my lower back. Looking around I saw not just the two boys, but also the Weasley twins, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Blaise, and Darrel. I glared at the last of the group. "Get out of here Darrel."

His irritatingly boyish face drooped. "But love -"

I snarled at him. "Shut up and don't call me that. For the last time! I am _not_ interested. That and I _hate _being called _love_ by people with no right. Meaning no one. Get out, leave me alone, stay away from me." there was an unsaid _or else_ attached and hanging in the air and we all knew it. He frowned and left.

Blaise watched him go. "C'mon Lyra, could you have been any more brutal?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, but I seriously needed him out of my life. Now is someone gonna tell me what happened?"

Blaise looked back t me. "You passed ou-"

"Passed out yeah, yeah, no _dummy_ I meant the match. Who won?"

Was this point when all three Weasleys shook there heads and made signals for me to shut up. _oh. _I looked at Harry, who had a grim look about him. "The dementors attacked me too. And apparently when I fell," he paused to motion to a pile of wood and twigs and twine on the next bed over. "my nimbus got blown into the whomping willow. And well... while that was all happening Diggory got the snitch." he sighed angrily and sat on the edge of the bed with his arms crossed.

"Oh Harry! I'm so sorry!" I leaned forward and hugged him. "I know how much you loved that broom. And don't worry about the match. You're still in the running." I said soothingly.

* * *

><p>Madam Pomfrey insisted on keeping both me and my brother in the hospital for the rest of the weekend. We didn't argue or complain, but Harry wouldn't let her throw away the shattered remains of his Nimbus Two Thousand. Both he and I knew he was being stupid, we knew that the broom was beyond repair. But I knew how much seeing his broom in it's destroyed state wounded him.<p>

As it was, my brother had a stream of visitors, intent on cheering him up. But me? I was an afterthought. I wasn't mad, but it really put into perspective how truly small my world was. Hagrid sent Harry a bunch of earwiggy flowers that looked like yellow cabbages, a blushing Ginny Weasley turned up with a home-made get well card for him, which sang shrilly unless we kept it shut under my bowel of fruit. Ginny had said a quick get well to me as well before scurrying off. The Gryffindor team visited their seeker again on Sunday morning, this time accompanied by their captain, Oliver Wood; who told Harry (in a hollow dead sort of voice) that he didn't blame him in the slightest. As they all left a few of them nodded hello to me, Fred and George actually stayed behind to talk to me for a minute or so. Ron and Hermione only left their friend's bedside at night, often including me in their conversations, but not always. I had a visit from Blaise, but when accompanying his best friend Draco, who visited at least twice a day, much to Harry's pique.

I did notice however, no matter anyone's efforts, even mine, nothing made my twin seem to feel any better. He was what worried me. Harry told me though, how humiliated he was about the dementors. Because no one besides us fainted when they went near them. None of them heard the echos of their dying parents.

As terrible as it was, I was glad he only heard echos. He was lucky. He was typically a happy person, cheery. If he knew what I did, if he had to carry it around, I was sure he would adopt my own haunted demeanor.

* * *

><p>Each night we stayed at the hospital wing, I didn't sleep. Twice I had asked Madam Pomfrey for dreamless sleep potion, twice she denied me. She said that nightmares brought on by dementors did not warrant such a thing. And Harry was fine, so why shouldn't I be? A weaker person would have broken down and told her the truth. A child would have been to fearful to face my dreams in order to hide them. I don't know if it was my pride, or my fears about what I would be put through were I revealed, but I never told her. Harry asked about why I wanted it, but I couldn't tell him either. Not because I thought he would tell, but because of my want to protect him. I had told Draco and Blaise because I trusted them with it, because I knew it wouldn't haunt them like it did me, or like it would my brother. I had told them, because I needed people to confide in. But Harry had enough to deal with on his own. A scared and frightened sibling was the last thing he needed.<p>

"You know Lyra, for as worried as you get over not getting along with Harry, the two of you are remarkably alike."

I looked at George like he was crazy. It was Saturday afternoon and the twins had come by to hang out with us. Fred was currently engaged with a conversation with Harry and Ron, and Hermione was reading. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged. "Well the easiest example is you're both stubborn. And you have blatant disregard for your own safety. You both care about your friends and you're both fiercely loyal. I think the only real difference is your attitude, and the few traits that earned you a Slytherin seat."

I hummed in response.

* * *

><p>I was almost relieved when Monday rolled around, if I hadn't had defense against the dark arts, I would have had a good, wholesome, stress free day.<p>

But no.

It was a nice lesson. Professor Lupin had brought in a glass box containing a hinkypunk.

When the bell rang, everyone gathered up their things, Harry and I among them. But- "Wait a moment Harry;" Lupin called. "I'd like a word." Harry doubled back on his walk out the door. I don't know why, but I followed suit. We watched as our professor covered the hinkypunk's box with a cloth. "I heard about the match." said Lupin, turning back to his desk and starting to pile books into his briefcase. "And I'm sorry about your broomstick. Is there no chance of fixing it?"

"No," my brother replied glumly. "The tree smashed it to bits."

Lupin sighed. "They planted the Whomping Willow the same year that I arrived at Hogwarts. People used to play a game, trying to get near enough to touch the trunk. In the end, a boy called Davey Gudgeon nearly lost an eye; we were forbidden to go near it after that. No broomstick would have a chance."

I swallowed back my discomfort. "Did you hear about the dementors too?" I said, half hiding behind Harry. I don't know what it was about this teacher, but he made my hackles raise when I went near him.

Lupin looked up at me. "Yes, I did. I don't think any of us have ever seen Professor Dumbledore that angry. They have been growing restless for some time... furious at the headmaster's refusal to let them inside the grounds. I suppose they were the reason you fell Harry?"

"Yes." he said hesitantly.

I could see where the conversation was headed, so I quietly morphed into a fox and slipped from the room. Almost immediately I ran into someone's legs. I looked up to find Draco leaning against the wall, just outside the door along with Blaise. He looked down. "Oh, I was wondering when you'd be done."

I shifted back to normal and frowned. "I didn't feel like listening to my brother and Lupin discussing dementors. I don't want to have to tell Harry -" I bit off the end of the sentence, looking away.

"About what happens?" he finished. I nodded. He sighed and took my book bag from my arms, slinging it over his shoulder, along with his own. He then put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me along. "You need to relax, you know that? All this... darkness that you keep allowing to well up inside you, it's going to drive you round the bend. Be happy for a change. Be like me kinda." he said grinning

"What? A ponce?" Blaise howled with laughter, as Draco spluttered for words.

His face grew pink with indignation. But when he saw my smirk, he glared playfully. "Cruel Potter. Very cruel."

I chuckled. "Why, mister Malfoy, I thought that you already knew!" I said innocently. He looked at me in confusion. "A girl such as I knows not what kindness is! Nor mercy! Ti's a Slytherin's nature." I said with a wink. He laughed and continued to walk me to the great hall for lunch.

* * *

><p>I noticed that Harry's mood did improve somewhat. He had told me about the planned anti-dementor lessons, and then Huffelpuff got itself flattened by Ravenclaw in their match towards the end of November. I didn't see much of him outside of class though. It seemed that now that Gryffindor was still in the running for sure, their captain Wood, was working them hard as ever in the chilly haze of rain that persisted into December.<p>

Two weeks before the end of term, the sky lightened suddenly to a dazzling, opaline white and the muddy grounds were revealed one morning covered in glittering frost. Inside the castle there was a buzz of Christmas in the air. Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, had already decorated his classroom with shimmering lights that turned out to be real, fluttering fairies. The students were already discussing their plans for the holidays. From what Harry had said, I gathered that Ron and Hermione were staying at Hogwarts for the holidays. And I knew that Draco was staying as well.

To my delight there was one more Hogsmead trip before the end of term. At the moment I was discussing it with Ron's sister Ginny. "You're so lucky to be allowed there. Especially right now. I need to shop..." she whined. "I hate those stupid catalogs."

I chuckled. "Oh whatever Red. That's _all_ I'll be doing. I'm not even gonna hang out with Ron and Hermione."

She rolled her eyes. "And yet you have lunch plans with an overgrown garden snake."

I stuck out my tongue. "Oh leave him alone. I know you think I'm crazy, but I'm ignoring you." I looked at my watch. "And you know what short one, I have to go."

She grumbled as I got up from our library table. "Well I hope you have fun on your date, even if it is with a cockroach!" I chose to ignore her as I picked up my shoulder bag, and walked out.

The snow outside was blanketing the world, and it was beautiful. It made the village I was walking towards looked like those beautiful snow globes that my foster mother collects. I wound through the different streets, window shopping and the like. I wasn't going to actually shop until after my lunch with Draco.

I hadn't understood why he had asked me to lunch, and I didn't think anything of it. Honestly in the back of my head, I acknowledged that this was his way of helping me. By not leaving me to my thoughts to often. I walked into the Three Broomsticks and sighed at the feeling of the warmer air. I pulled at the scarf around my neck, loosening it. I noticed Draco sitting in a corner and watching me. I smiled and headed over. I sat down in the seat opposite him.

"Hey Dragon. haven't been waiting long, have you?"

He shook his head. "No, I just got back to the table with the food. You like tomato bisque right?" I nodded. "Great. I also got us some butterbeer."

I smiled. "Why thank you Mister Malfoy. You're quite the gentleman." I said, lifting my soup spoon to my lips.

He scoffed, matching my mocking tone. "Please, Mister Malfoy is my father, call me Draco." we both snorted with laughter, tomato soup came out my nose. I shook my head at him after I had cleaned my face off. If nothing else the boy was a mystery. We ate and bantered, and flirted. It was a lot like when we'd first met. "So I thought you were going shopping? I don't see any parcels yet." he said in a cool voice.

I glared playfully at him. "Oh no you don't you slippery Slytherin. Don't even _try_ to play that game with me. Besides I haven't gone shopping yet."

"What game?" he said innocently.

I rolled my eyes. "I have to go goofball. Besides, your cronies are here looking for you." I said nodding at the two lumbering trolls that had just walked in.

"Oh fine. See you later Lyra."

I nodded goodbye and left.

* * *

><p><strong>reveiw<strong>


	12. Christmas in the air pt2

**Ok, well in my opinion this chapter is a bit of a throw away. But it's still a valid one. Although I'm not particularly happy with how this chapter turned out, I was at least able to work in some minor fluff, (if it's not obvious where the fluff is and who it's involving, get your eyes fixed) the fluff in and of itself, is a bit angst-y. Also in here: you will see the beginnings of one of Lyra's strongest friendships in this story, as well as an angry Lyra, a vulnerable Draco, a smug Blaise, and oh look! Hermione and Lyra aren't arguing! Yet. Please enjoy. And review. Mama likes reviews. But be nice, I'm not good at writing Christmas stuff, (I'm Buddhist and therefore I don't celebrate this holiday)**

**also, im not sure if i ever posted this one, but i revised it anyway most of it is still just fluff though**

**ja ne**

* * *

><p>I stepped out into the snow covered street. It was a bittersweet moment. Because I had returned to the snow globe, but I was cold. I pulled the scarf tighter around my neck, and wrapped my arms around myself. <em>I wish that I'd warn a thicker jacket. It's so damn cold out...<em>

The pub door opened behind me. "Oy! Lyra!" I turned to find Draco stepping out. I glared enviously at his heavy winter cloak. He noticed of course and looked at my own paper thin jacket. "Cold?" he said I blushed and looked away. Next thing I knew there was a to-big-for-a-girl-my-size warm fur-lined cloak that was draped over my shoulders. I felt my eyes widen and I whipped around. His back was to me and he was walking back to Crabbe and Goyle.

I smiled at him and pulled the cloak tighter around me. The first shop I went into was one for books. I bought Hermione a book about **real** divination (Harry had told me about her being fed up with Trewalny) as well as one about complex charms. Then I got a book on astronomy for Blaise, he was one of the few who enjoyed that class. As far as The Weasley brothers (minus Percy) I was going to go into Zonkos for. Ginny was a different matter, I decided to get her jewelry. In a quaint little shop I found a necklace that had a gold lion's head charm on it. From the length of the chain I could tell it would rest over her heart. It was a perfect gift for the Gryffindor.

The only person really left to shop for was Draco, and it was going to take forever to do that. I walked though the different shops unable to find anything. But after about three hours of searching I did finally find something worth buying for the boy with everything, it was perfect. I smiled contently as the clerk gift wrapped it.

"So miss, if you don't mind my asking, what made you buy such an expensive trinket?"

"It's for a good friend of mine. My nickname for him is Dragon. It just sort of fit.."

The man nodded and handed me the package. "Well let's hope that he likes it, eh?"

* * *

><p>When I got back a little before dinner, I stowed my purchases in my room and changed cloths before I went up to the Gryffindor common room. "Hello dear Lady, may I enter?"<p>

The Fat Lady, who knew me by now to know I was no threat to the Gryffindors, nodded and swung open. Upon entering, I noticed that Harry and his friends were sitting at the fire. Ron and Hermione looked troubled, but my brother looked ready to kill. I walked over to the trio. "Harry? What's wrong?"

* * *

><p>"Wait, wait, wait. You gave her your cloak?"<p>

I shrugged. "She was cold, I didn't need it that much. I had a thick coat on as well."

"Oh you're kidding."

"Blaise what's the big deal? I was just being nice."

"You're in serious denial."

"Over what?" I asked incredulously.

"You-" he paused to look over my shoulder. "-should probably start running."

"Why...?" I turned around to see what he meant and was met by a hand slapping my face so hard I actually stumbled back into Blaise. I felt blood drip down my cheek from scratch marks given by her lengthening claws.

"You unimaginable bastard." Lyra hissed as she raised her hand to slap me again. I grabbed her wrist just in time to keep from being hit again. It didn't even faze her. Her emerald eyes were blazing with an angry fire as she glared holes into my head. "You knew. You _knew._ Didn't you?" she said in a dangerous tone.

"What're you talking about? Lyra what's going on?" I said alarmed by her anger.

This only seemed to add fuel to the fire. "Oh you know _exactly_ what I'm talking about Draco Malfoy!"

"No I don't!" I said disparately. We now had the attention of the whole common room, if we hadn't already.

"Sirius Black! You _knew_ he was the one who sold my parents to Voldemort! You fucking _knew!"_ her voice was rising steadily. And her eyes were becoming watery with tears. "That's why you mentioned revenge that once! Wasn't it? You fucking _lied _to me!"

"Lyra, I'm sorry... I didn't mean for you to-"

"To find out? Bullshit Malfoy!" she wrenched her arm away, snarling at me. She then stalked towards the girls' dorm.

"Lyra, wait-" I said following her, capturing her wrist again in a much gentler hold. She whipped back around and slapped me again, her nails digging into my cheek for a second time.

"Don't ever touch me again. Don't even speak to me. And stay away from my family if you know what's good for you." she spat.

As far as I knew, Lyra slept in the Gryffindor common room that night.

* * *

><p>The next morning I was woken up by the babble of leaving students as they passed through the cozy Gryffindor common room on their way to the train. Among the throng I spotted Ginny. I waved her over. "You not staying I suppose?"<p>

She shook her head. "No, mum wants me home, she wants Ron home to, but understands his want to stay with your brother."

"Right. Well I don't want to keep you. See you when you get back from break." I gave the short girl a hug and then separated to go find Harry. I walked into his room, that he shared with the other boys in his year. Walking in I saw Ron pulling on a shirt, and Harry's bed curtains drawn. "He still sleeping?"

"Bloody hell!" Ron yelped. "Sorry I didn't hear you come in." I shrugged. "He actually only fell asleep a few minutes ago. He'll probably be out till lunch. What're you doing here so early?"

"I slept in your common room. After slapping Malfoy twice and yelling at him, I didn't much want to risk bumping into him this morning. Or ever again for that matter. You two were right he is a prat." Ron was rather nice about not saying 'I told you so'. "So I assume Hermione's staying to?"

"Ya."

"Hmm. Oy, I'm going to borrow my dad's old cloak so that I can slip back down to my own dorm to change. Let Harry know I've taken it, will you?" I discerned a 'sure' within Ronald's massive yawn. I pulled the invisibility cloak from my twin's trunk and slipped it over my head. It was really big on me partially due to the fact that it was tailored for a grown man, and partially because I was short.

* * *

><p>It didn't take long for me to get down to the Slytherins' common room. I was surprised and irritated to find that it was empty except for Blaise and Malfoy. Taking a deep quiet breath I walked past where they sat. I caught the tail end of Malfoy's sentence.<p>

"-she'd go after him." his voice was cracked and pitiful. Anger mixed with curiosity made me stop and turn around.

"But if you had just told her in the first place you would have avoided this mess. Lyra's normally pretty reasonable. She wouldn't have been that stupid. And besides you barely know anything about it. You just knew he betrayed them to you-know-who."

The blonde looked up. He had ugly red marks with dried blood in a few spots from where my nails had caught him. He looked like he was ready to cry, and even as angry as I was at him, the expression made my heart clench. It was something I never thought I'd see on the proud teen's face."I know. I was an idiot, but I was worried that she'd do it anyway. It doesn't matter now though. She hates me." he said in that same broken tone.

"She'll get over it." Blaise said unconvincingly.

Whatever he should have said, that was not it. Draco's eyes clouded with anger, and his face contorted into a visibly painful approximation of a sneer. The movement caused scarlet rivulets to drip down his face from the agitated looking abrasions on his cheek. "Look at my face Blaise! She will not get over it. Don't pull that." he said angrily.

I bit my lip. He really hadn't deserved my reaction. Even from here I could tell that the beginning of an infection was setting in. If I was right, then it probably came from the dirt that had been under my claws, which I had been neglecting. And they were also longer than normal, which was why they had left scratches instead of welts. In the back of my head I chastised him for not cleaning them. But it was clear that the boy had not slept at all last night. I pulled out my wand beneath the cloak, and pointed it at his face._ "Nectagia" _I whispered. The red puffiness around the scratches faded back to his usual pale complexion._"Episkey"_ This time, the lines on his face faded a they healed, and the scratches left as well leaving behind only cracked dry blood, as well as the few lines of fresh blood.

Blaise gasped. Draco looked at him like he was crazy. "You're face! The scratches! They just -!" he was speechless.

Draco's hand shot to his cheek; probing for injury. His face grew more shocked by the second. "What in the world..." he muttered.

I smiled and left them to speculate. As I left though I flicked my wand again so that the common room was filled with Christmas music. Entering my dorm room I pulled off the cloak and shucked my flannel pants and my threadbare t-shirt, and put on a pair of warm black sweat pants and a green sweatshirt. I then put the cloak back on. I shut the door quietly behind me and turned around almost running into Blaise.

"I knew it. But how're you invisible?"

"Shit. You didn't tell him did you?" I said without moving to take off the cloak.

"No, he just left for breakfast." I sighed tiredly, and pulled back the hood of the cloak, only my head was visible to him though. Blaise was watching me with a disappointed look. "I take it you were eaves dropping?"

"I only heard the end of it."

"Uh hu. Do you have any clue how different he acts around you?"

"Sorta."

"Meaning no. Draco walks on eggshells around you so that he doesn't make a mistake. He doesn't do that for anyone else. Not even me. Even around me he's an ass. Personally, I don't think he himself notices the change. Lyra he cares about you."

I bit my lip thinking about the fur-lined cloak that was siting on my bed. "You're right..." I sighed.

"What you did was-"

"An inexcusable bitchy move, as well as an over reaction. I should have heard his side before doing something like that."

"Uh hu."

"He did lie to me though. That was probably my silent justification of my anger. I found out rather abruptly, and Harry had had a lot more time to stew about it than I had. I'm over protective of my family, and would like nothing better than to find Black and kill him myself. So thinking that Draco had willfully hid this from me really hurt. I should have let myself calm down before talking to him last night... I'm going to ignore him for a day or two then make up. That should give us both enough time to simmer down a bit more." I with slight frustration.

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Girls are to confusing."

I giggled. "We try." I started to pull the cloak's hood back up when I noticed something flicker across his face. I hesitated. "Was there something else?"

he bit his lip. "Ya, Drake is terrified of what you'll do when you find out. His dad is making a case against that hippogriff. He's aiming to get the hippogriff executed."

I felt my jaw drop. "What?"

"It's not Drake's fault. He's terrified of his father, there's no way he could say anything against it. Lucius is the one making him fake his arm injury as well."

"What the fuck?" I hissed. "Why would Draco listen to him?"

"You have no idea what that man is capable of... I've known Drake since we were toddlers – I've seen what's happened to my blond friend. He hates his father, but is to scared for his and his mother's safety to do anything but obey." Blaise's words were making the hairs on the back of my neck raise. I had met Lucius Malfoy on only one occasion, and I had known on first sighting that he was an intimidating man. Blaise sighed before continuing. "I don't know if you've witnessed Draco's self hatred yet, but it's there. He hates how he looks, how he was brought up, the way he has to act. He feels like he's being forced into being a younger version of his father. Every time he looks in a mirror, he only sees Lucius Malfoy. Not Draco. It's why he dose his hot and cold act with you. He's trying so hard to make you not hate him, and to like him for who he really is. But he doesn't know how. And he's scared about what'll happen if he gets caught by someone other than me." now finished with what he needed to say, Blaise walked away towards the boys' dorm.

I stared after him for a moment, my mind reeling from this new information. Then, snapping out of my daze, I pulled the cloak back up over my head, then rushing up to the Gryffindor common room. Harry was still asleep when I returned his cloak. I sighed and left him to his sleep.

My appetite was nonexistent so I went to the library, there was a small reading area in the back of the library with couches and pillows. Hermione had shown me sometime at the beginning of the year. I sighed as I sat down cross legged on a green couch. I was still tired even though I had slept through the night. In my anger, and rush to leave the common room last night, I had forgotten my sleeping potion. My dreams had been confused jumbles of memories and nightmares:

My parents smiling and laughing, a black dog walking into the foyer, Sirius Black in our living room, Voldemort striking down my family, Harry's dead body, Black laughing maniacally as he pointed his wand to kill me, my shoulder radiating pain as the killing curse ripped through it, my mother's dieing scream.

I sighed shakily. This was all to confusing, my head was beginning to hurt. Turning to the side I lay on the couch, closing my eyes and willed my headache to go away.

* * *

><p>Blaise sat next to me at the breakfast table. "What took so long?" I asked.<p>

"Lyra."

I nearly choked on my omelet. "What?" I coughed.

He nodded. "She came into the common room right after you had left."

"But I didn't see her in the hall coming up from the dungeons!"

"She was using an invisibility cloak."

I felt like banging my head against the table. "What'd she say?"

"Nothing important. She looked really worn though, like she didn't get much sleep"

It occurred to me that this was probably because she hadn't taken her potion. I glanced around the great hall. She wasn't here. I stood up. "I'm gonna go look for her."

He shrugged."Your funeral."

I ignored him and left. My feet carried me to the library. I went to the table she usually studied at but she wasn't there.

"She's in the back right corner of the library."

I whipped around in shock, I hadn't known anyone else was here, but the real shock was the owner of the voice. "Granger?" I asked, forgetting to sneer.

"You heard me Malfoy."

I didn't move. "Why would you tell me? Why help me?" I asked in confusion.

"Because I don't think you really knew anything about Black. You were just shooting your mouth off to Harry because your a prat." she paused before continuing. "And because I'm not an idiot. I know you care about her. And she cares about you. God only knows why though, especially considering how much of an ass you are." she turned and started walking away, a book tucked under one arm.

"Granger, wait!" she stopped but didn't turn around. "Thanks." she waved her hand in dismissal and left.

Once she was gone I bolted to where she had said Lyra was. It was a little alcove with four couches, one in each house color. On the green one was Lyra. She was on her back with her head resting on the pillows, her legs were bent at the knees, and one arm was draped across her stomach, with the other behind her head. Her eyes were closed, and her brow was creased. She looked like she was in a troubled sleep.

Hesitantly I walked over and sat one the edge of the couch next to her. It was clear she'd fallen asleep without her potion, but she didn't seem to be having a nightmare. I didn't want to wake her up and have her yell at me again, but I wanted to apologize.

* * *

><p>I didn't open my eyes when I heard him walk up, nor when I felt the dip in the couch when he sat next to me. I knew it was him, I even knew why he was here, but my head was pounding, and I didn't want to hear it.<p>

I could almost here the cogs in his head turning as he tried to figure out what to do. He clearly didn't know I was awake. I expected him to sigh and give up, walking away. I was not expecting him to start talking.

"I know you're asleep, but you probably wouldn't listen if you were awake. Lyra, I'm truly sorry about what I did. I only wanted to protect you. I care about you is all." he said quietly. His weight on the couch shifted and I felt him leaning over me. I almost opened my eyes, but stopped when I felt him hovering over my face. He hesitated and then I felt him press his lips to my forehead. When he pulled away he whispered another small apology before getting up and leaving.

When he left I opened my eyes to watch his retreating back. His actions had my already pounding head spinning with questions.

If Blaise thought girls were confusing, then he had clearly never had it explained from a girls perspective. Boys were way more complicated than we were, even if they were idiots.

* * *

><p>That night during dinner, I sat with my three Gryffindors. They had gone down to visit Hagrid that afternoon, he had received a letter from the ministry about Buckbeak and his trial. I had already known about it but it still riled me up. More than once, I found myself glaring at Draco. He kept glancing in my direction, his face gave nothing away but his eyes were a sad, washed out gray, rather than their usual warm mercury.<p>

We all continued like this for about another week and then it was that Christmas arrived. The afternoon before Christmas eve, I hung out in the Gryffindor girls' dormitory with Hermione. We discussed random things as well as more serious ones.

"So basically you just did what I did." I chuckled.

"Basically. But honestly, where _else_ would you get one of the Weasley's a gift?" she giggled back.

"Ya," I said still giggling. "So what about twin? I promise not to tell him."

"A book on the history of Quidditch." she said with a shrug. "You?"

"I didn't shop for him." she opened her mouth to question but I held up a hand to cut her off. I stuck my hand in my robes, extracting a red velvet golden drawstring pouch I handed it to her. "It belonged to our Dad. I found it when I was in our old home. I vaguely remember him wearing it. I have some of our mother's jewelry as well; some of it I wear regularly. Harry has dad's old cloak but I figured he'd appreciate this too." She glanced up at me from the pouch in her hands. Hesitantly she tugged on the strings to open it. Tipping it upside down the watch fell into her hand. "It's plated in gold and there's an enchantment on the whole thing so that it doesn't get scratched. On the back there's an engraving of the Gryffindor lion, as well as the words _'In Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart'_ around the edge." I said as she looked at it. "It's more traditional to give a wizard a watch on his seventeenth birthday, but this is different. I'm sure he'll get his own watch then, but this one is more of a sentimental gift."

Hermione put the watch back in the pouch and gave it back. "You're a good sister you know that? Harry doesn't realize how lucky he is to at least have you, if not your parents."

I paused a moment looking at the scarlet bag in my hand. "Not really." I said quietly. "I just try to keep him happy. One of us needs to be." I stuffed the bag back into my pocket, and cleared my throat. "I need to go back to my own common room. I neglected the wrapping of presents I didn't have to mail."

"Ok." she said smiling.

"But do me a favor?"

"Hmm?"

"Distract Harry and Ron so that I can hang my brother's present on the tree?"

She laughed and nodded. We walked down the stairs to find the boys wrapped in a game of wizard's chess. Hermione walked over and said something about dinner, which was in about half an hour. As they engaged her in a conversation about their anticipation for the Christmas dinner, I quietly walked over to the tree and hung the velvet pouch on one of the branches. I put a spell on it so that it wouldn't fall off, and so that it would be wreathed in a golden light. Smiling, I walked over to the trio and let them know I would see them at the feast. As I left Hermione gave me a thumbs up behind her back. I rolled my eyes and left.

* * *

><p>Down in the Slytherin common room Blaise was sitting in one of the couches while Draco sat in the one across from him. "Hey Blaise." I chirped as I walked by.<p>

"Hey."

Up in my dorm I had all the presents in my trunk pulling them out, I also pulled out Draco's cloak. I looked for a moment at the cloak and then at his present. It was 'wrapped' in the same way Harry's was. Except the velvet was green and the strings were silver. I sighed and picked them both up. Hiding the gift in the cloak, I stalked out of the room acting irritated. I stalked right over to where the boys sat. I stopped when I was next to Blaise and glared at Draco. I threw the cloak at him.

"Take that stupid thing back. I don't want it and it's taking up space in my trunk." I snapped.

I would not be exaggerating if I said he looked like a kicked puppy as he stood up. He got about three steps before the green pouch fell from his cloak. I smirked as it made a muffled 'thunk' on the black tiled floors. The sound made Draco turn around, he spotted it as he followed Blaise's gaze as he and I watched the package. Nervously he picked it up. He frowned and tried to return it to me, avoiding my eyes. "Sorry." he muttered. "I guess one of your friends' gifts fell into the cloak when it was in your trunk." he still wasn't looking at me when he held up the small bag.

I snorted. "I don't want it. You keep it." I said. The poison had left my voice and it was now clear to both of them that I was mocking him. He finally looked at me. Hurray for small miracles. He brought the bag back towards himself, staring at it confusedly. After about a minute of him standing there he finally moved to open it. Dumping it's contents into his other hand his face switched to total shock as a sort of pendant and a note appeared from inside. He looked up and gaped at me. I chuckled. "Close your mouth you look like a fish." his mouth snapped shut. "Read the note out loud so Blaise can hear."

he looked down at the folded paper. Opening it he spoke in an unsure tone.

"Dragon, merry Christmas. I got this when I was in Hogsmead, I saw it and knew you'd like it. It matches my nickname for you. It's a charm made with the tip of a dragon's claw. To be more specific, its a protection charm. It's supposed to help you avoid danger, and help you to hide, stuff like that. It's actually kinda funny; I came within an inch of getting the single dragon's claw earring, but I doubt me stabbing a hole in your ear is what you want for Christmas. Lyra." he looked up at me in shock. I smiled and started walking back to my dorm.

I waved behind me. "See you boys at the feast."

* * *

><p><em>Wait. What? <em>I turned to Blaise. "What just happened?"

He snickered. "I spoke to her a few days ago, she agreed that she over reacted. She felt badly, which was why she healed your face. However she was still angry about being lied to, and upset over the hippogriff's trial."

"She knows? Then why am I not rotting in some deep hole yet?" I said with a bit of bitterness.

"I told her about it. As well as why you're going along with it."

"_What?" _I almost shouted, flopping down onto the couch

"I was rather cryptic about it, so she doesn't really know anything other than that you're scared of your father. I was extremely vague, but said enough to get you off her black lists." I didn't argue or agree. I sighed and sat down on the couch. "I think you should tell her."

"No." he didn't say anything else on the subject. I looked down at Lyra's gift. The claw was black with silver patterns embedded in it. It was only about an inch and a half long and only a half inch in diameter, tapering down to it's dull, curved tip. The designs were made up of dots and lines. There was a separate, very different one on each side. From what I could tell, the deigns had been carved into the bone and then filled in with silver. I frowned. "Hey Blaise? Do you have any clue what these markings are?" I said tossing the claw tip to him.

He looked at each side once then tossed it back. "Blond moment Drake. You're telling me you have no clue what those are?" I shook my head. He raised an eyebrow. "They're constellations stupid. The big one on the front is actually your namesake. 'Draco-the dragon'."

A light flush crept to my cheeks for my foolishness. "So what's the other one?" I mumbled to myself.

"Her namesake. The constellation 'Lyra-the harp'."

I looked down at the trinket in my hands and smiled softly, running a thumb over it. "And it's beautiful." I said.

I expected Blaise to make a teasing remark, but whatever it might have been was cut off with a short laugh. "Hardly." said a slightly bitter voice. I looked over to the tree where Lyra was sliding a present underneath, where four others already sat. "But thank you, all the same." she said in a lighter tone as she straightened up. "C'mon you two. We don't want to be late for the feast." she said smiling lightly as she walked out of the common room.

* * *

><p>The feast was wonderful. We all sat at the same table with the teachers. Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and Flitwick were there, along with Filch, the caretaker, who had taken off his usual brown coat and was wearing a rather moldy-looking tailcoat. Not including the troublesome trio, the two dum-dums, and myself there were only three other students; two extremely nervous-looking first years, and a sullen faced Slytherin fifth year.<p>

"Merry Christmas!" Dumbledore said as I sat down beside my brother. "As there are so few of us, it seemed foolish to use the house tables... Sit down, sit down!" He called to Draco and Blaise as they entered into the hall. My fellow Slytherins noticed the company I sat with and, grimacing, sat at the other end of the table.

"Crackers!" Said Dumbledore enthusiastically, offering the end of a large silver noisemaker to Snape, who reluctantly tugged on it. With a bang like a gunshot, the cracker flew flew apart to reveal a large, pointed witch's hat, topped with a stuffed vulture.

Harry, remembering the boggart caught my eye and grinned. I wanted to smile back, but that day had been to filled with grief for me to allow it. I did notice however, that Snape's mouth thinned and he pushed the hat towards the headmaster, who promptly swapped it for his wizard's hat at once. "Dig in!" he said to the table.

As everyone began to tuck into the scrumptious food, a light buzz of conversation began. At one point I caught the tail end of a conversation between Professors Snape and Dumbledore. "Severus, you've made him the potion for him again?"

"Yes headmaster." said Snape.

"Good." replied the old wizard. "Then he should be up and about in a few days then. It's such a shame that he fell ill on Christmas...Derek, have you had any of these chipolatas? They're excellent."

The first year boy went furiously red on being addressed directly by Dumbledore, and took the platter of sausages with trembling hands.

The first year aside, I quietly tucked the small amount of information away in the corner of my mind. This was becoming a regular thing. Professor Lupin seemed like he was _always_ sick. And in the back of my head there was a nagging suspicion that it wasn't a simple coincidence. But I was full and I was tired, so I was not going to dwell on it. I nudged harry in the arm to get his attention.

"Hey I'm gonna go to bed ok? I'll come up to the your common room tomorrow, ok?" he nodded and went back to his conversation with Ron. I got up, and nodded goodnight to the boys down the table, before leaving the great hall.

* * *

><p>Christmas morning I woke up to find Blaise already missing from our dormitory. Chuckling to myself, I got up from my bed and tugged on a pair of green flannel pants, and tugged on the dragon claw, before following his lead into the dormitory.<p>

I found him sitting on the black leather couch with silver wrapping paper on the floor below him, and a new book in his lap.

"Morning Drake." he said, not even glancing up from the book.

I laughed and walked up behind him. The book that was in his lap had a bunch of drawings on one page, and a star map on the other. "What the heck are you reading? It looks like Lyra's astronomy notes threw up on the thing."

He blindly tried to make a swipe at my head, as he was still reading through his book, he missed. "Shut up prat. This is a real astronomy book not that crappy textbook we have. Lyra got it for me... did you know that your two constellations border each other? It's actually pretty cool. We study your constellation in class all the damn time, but we never look at Lyra's for some reason."

There was a yawn from the direction of the dormitories. "That's because Draco is circumpolar. Lyra isn't. And it isn't very reliable to help with direction, even the centaurs mostly ignore it, except for Vega that is. But hat doesn't count." she walked over and flicked Blaise on the back of the head. "You could have waited for us you know."

The dark haired boy just shrugged. I rolled my eyes at him and walked over to the tree and pulled a small green package out from under the pile, and tossed it to Lyra. "Well just to keep it going," I shot a minor glare at the back of my best friend's head. "here. Merry Christmas Lyra." I was grateful that Lyra wasn't one of those dumb girls who would be all 'oh you shouldn't have' and then rip the paper off like it didn't matter.

She smiled and tentatively began tugging the paper off. I smirked. I had gotten her silver drop earrings with small diamonds in them. (I'll admit I asked Blaise for help looking for it.) I'm not exactly used to looking for jewelry for girls other than my mother.

She smiled and pulled me into a one armed hug. "Thank you Dragon."

I smiled into her hair and hugged her back. "You're welcome."

"Denial!"

"Blaise for the last time, what the bloody hell are you talking about?"

He just laughed at us.

* * *

><p>The rest of the morning was very pleasant. I got some nice gifts. The one from Harry surprised me, he had gotten me a potions kit, with an advanced potions book. His card had said that he knew I liked potions, and he thought I would enjoy experimenting with harder concoctions.<p>

"Hey, someone forgot one." I looked over to see Blaise reaching under the tree. He came back up holding a silver box with a black ribbon on it. He looked at the name inked onto the paper, and passed it to me. "It doesn't say who it's from..."

Frowning slightly, I pulled off the paper, and found myself holding a jewelry box, not unlike the one that Draco's earrings had come in. I opened it to find a small silver locket, with a miniscule heart shaped glass window that showed a strange mist inside it. Even further confused, I cautiously opened it. I nearly dropped it when the swirling silver mist sprang forth from the inside, and began thickening. But then, the mist changed into a colorful moving image. The two people it showed brought tears to my eyes. It was my mother and father, dancing at their wedding. And then the image changed to show me and Harry's first Christmas with our parents.

"Oh my god..." I breathed.

The mist was memories. Memories of my parents...

* * *

><p><strong>Please review!<strong>


	13. I'll never forgive you Granger

**This is the second shortest chapter yet, and i appologise for that, to be honest the reason for it is that the stopping point was an oportune one, as it coincided with the twelth chapter of HP POA but dont worry. more will be up soon. Promise. And also, the end of theis chapter is setting up one of Lyra's biggest ... frenimys, shal we say? This developement shal be reoccuring thruout the fanfic. But not usualy as big as this particular isnstance.**

**R&R**

**Ja ne!**

* * *

><p>"Merlin's beard..." Blaise muttered, looking at the locket Lyra had received. "Lyra whoever sent this to you must really care about you. These lockets cost a thousand galleons at <em>least<em>. Not to mention they're _really_ rare." he handed the necklace back to her.

"Was there a note?" I asked reaching for the box it had come in. I looked it over and found a small slip of paper taped to the bottom. There was only one sentence written on it.

_I thought that you could use few happier memories than those you carry._

"Lyra." I said holding it out to her.

"I don't recognize this handwriting." she said, disappointed. "But who could have sent something like this?"

"You tell us." Blaise said.

We all sat in silence for good while after that. Eventually Nath emerged from Lyra's dormitory and began rubbing his face against his owner's hand. Lyra smiled, then frowned slightly. "Um, I'm going to go up to spend some time with Harry." Blaise and I both acknowledged this and watched her pick up he kitten and go.

"So which irritating bint sent you a gift?" Blaise asked when she was gone.

"Pansy." I picked up a small green gift bag and tossed it to the dark skinned boy. "What about you?"

he pointed to a discarded gift near the tree.

"That Carly slag." he reached into the bag and pulled out its contents only to shout and drop it promptly. It was a magical figurine. Like the ones you could get of famous Quidditch players.

Except it wasn't a Quidditch player.

It was a half naked Pansy that kept dancing lewdly.

Or, well, _trying_ to dance lewdly. I honestly thought she looked like she was having a spasm of some kind.

"The girl is barely thirteen. How the hell is she already that much of a slut?"

"Not a clue. I presume Carly sent you a gift of the same persuasion?" I said grimacing as I picked up the Pansy and put it back in the bag it came in.

"Basically." he replied, shuddering.

"Girls are all crazy."

The Italian raised an eyebrow at me and smirked. "Lyra said something similar about us guys too."

I chuckled. "I don't doubt she did."

* * *

><p>"Merry Christmas, dear lady." I said bowing to the portrait guarding the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. "May I go in?" the fat lady smiled and nodded, swinging forwards to allow me to enter. Happily, I stepped into the room, and walked up the stairs to the boys' dormitory. Grinning from ear to ear I swung open the door and obnoxiously began singing 'deck the halls'.<p>

I stopped however when I felt the tone of the room. Looking towards my brother's bed, I saw Hermione with her hands on her hips, ignoring me entirely. I walked over and in a voice that already sounded exasperated, asked, "Ok, who did what this time?"

"Hermione's being unreasonable." Ron grumbled, crossing his arms.

I looked to Harry for confirmation. He nodded, scowling. "I got a Firebolt from someone, and since we don't know who it's from, Hermione went ballistic. Says we shouldn't touch it."

"What, just 'cause there wasn't a card or something?" he and Ron nodded in unison. I turned to Hermione. "There's no harm in it. I mean, I got an anonymous gift too. Heck, I'm _wearing_ it, and I've had yet to be jinxed or cursed. Why should the broom be any different?"

But before Hermione could answer, the small lion she claimed was a pet cat sprang from one of the beds, and right onto Ronald's chest, soon joined by my own small kitten after he leapt from my arms.

"GET – THEM – OUT – OF – HERE!" The red-head bellowed as Crookshanks's claws ripped his pajamas and Scabbers attempted a wild escape over his shoulder, Nath scrambling after him. Ron seized his rat by it's tail and aimed a misjudged kick at the larger cat that hit the trunk at the end of my brother's bed, knocking it over and causing Ron to hop up and down, howling with pain.

Crookshanks's fur suddenly stood on end. A shrill, tinny whistling was filling the room. I looked on the floor to see a pocket Sneakscope, which had become dislodged from the depths of a sock, was whirling and gleaming on the hardwood surface.

"I forgot about that!" Harry said, bending down to pick it up. "I never wear those socks if I can help it..." the object continued its commotion in his palm. The monster cat was hissing and spitting at it, as was Nath. I morphed into a fox and growled at the small dark cat, silencing him. With my tail I motioned for him to come sit by me. Sheepishly, the kitten slunk back over to me in order to sit beside me. Still glaring at him slightly, I loosely wrapped my tail around him. It was nearly as big as he, so his head was all that could be seen over top it.

"You'd better take that cat out of here Hermione." said Ron furiously, sitting on Harry's bed, nursing his stubbed toe. "Can you shut that thing up?" he added to my brother as the girl exited the room, Crookshanks's yellow eyes still fixed maliciously on the red head.

My brother stuffed the device back inside the socks, which he then threw it back into his trunk. He then looked at me. "So, you said that you got an anonymous gift as well?" he asked.

Morphing back I picked up Nath and nodded, now reminded of why I had been so eager to get up here. I pointed to the little silver heart resting atop the small amount of cleavage I had. "You wont believe whats inside it though." I said smiling widely.

Setting Nath on one of the other beds, where he promptly curled up on the pillow, I pulled the necklace over my head. I was about to open it up when something else popped into my head. I looked up at my brother. "Before I forget, did you like your gift? The one I sent you?"

Remembrance blossomed on his face. "Oh that's right! I haven't opened it yet. Ron and I were to distracted by the broom." he said, guilt seeping into his words. Turning slightly, he lifted the red pouch off his bed.

I smiled broadly. "Well go on then." Raising an eyebrow he tugged at the strings and let the yellow and white gold watch tumble onto his palm. Before he said anything. I told him the meaning of the gift. "It belonged to Dad." I said quietly. "Look at the bottom."

Wide eyed, he flipped it over, his eyes getting wider if possible. "Lyra... this is..." he looked up at me, tears brimming around his eyes. Next thing I knew, he was holding me in a tight bear hug. Smiling sadly, I hugged him back.

"Merry Christmas Harry."

* * *

><p>Ron and Hermione spent the remainder of the day being angry with one another.<p>

Lunch was pleasant, much like the minor feast the previous night. Though, when we left the great hall, Hermione was acting a bit strange, lingering in the doorway.

"You coming or not 'Mione?" I asked.

"No." she muttered. "I want to talk to Professor McGonagall for a moment." then slipped back into the great hall.

"Probably trying to see of she can take anymore classes." Ron yawned as the three of us remaining made our way back to the boys' common room.

Once we were there, Harry brought down his new broomstick, as well as a servicing kit. But as it were, there were no bent twigs to clip, and the handle was already glossy and shining, so polishing it was a pointless endeavor. The boys just admired it from every angle, while I sat on the other couch, watching the memories that came from the locket I had cradled in my hands.

I had ended up not telling my brother, he had been so distracted by the watch. And besides, I was some what reluctant to show it to him. For, while they were his parents to, for now, I felt like these memories would open a door into a hall of questions. Why would someone send me this and not him? Why would I need better memories of our family? What did I remember already? Why hadn't I told someone? Why had I told Draco and Blaise, instead of my own brother? Etc. I didn't want that. Not yet.

We all sat in relative quiet, that is, until the portrait hole swung open to reveal McGonagall, who was accompanied by Hermione. A lump dropped from my throat and into my stomach. I clicked the locket shut, not wanting the two to notice what the boys hadn't.

My brother clutched the Firebolt, and Hermione walked around them, picked up the nearest book, and hid her face behind it.

"So that's it then?" said the professor beadily, walking over to the fireside couch to examine the broom. "Miss Granger has just informed me that you have been sent a broomstick Potter." I really hated it when people called either of us that. I mean, it was obvious she was talking to him and not me, but still.

I glanced over at Hermione, only her steadily reddening forehead could be seen over top of the book, which was upside down.

"May I?" asked McGonagall. She didn't wait for a response before plucking it from Harry's hands. She examined it from handle to twig ends. "Hmm... and there was no note at all? No card? No message of any kind?"

"No." my brother replied flatly.

"I see.." said Professor McGonagall. "Well, I'm afraid I'm going to have to take this Potter."

"What?" I said in unison with the boys, jumping up from the couch. "That's not fare! There's not a thing wrong with it! Why take it? It belongs to Harry!" I said, socked.

"Ahh, yes Miss Potter-" oh, so _I'm _ good enough for a prefix? "Miss Granger said you had received a gift of this nature as well?"

My hand flew up to the locket around my neck. "So?" my voice shook. No. She couldn't. She wouldn't!

"I'll have to take that as well. These items need to be checked for jinxes and other such spells." she said holding out her hand. "You will get them back after they have been stripped down and deemed safe."

Stripped down? That would destroy the locket! The spells holding them in their form were intricate and complex! Removing even one could destroy it, or reduce it to nothing more than a fancy memory vial! "No! Y-you can't!" my voice cracked, but I didn't care. Tears sprang into my eyes, and I still didn't care.

"I can and I will miss Potter." she snapped her fingers and I felt the clasp on the chain un hook and the jewelry flew from around my neck and into her hand. She then strode from the room.

I stood there dumbstruck.

"_What did you go running to McGonagall for?"_

Hermione threw her book aside. Sh was still pink in the face, but stood up and faced Ron defiantly. "Because I thought – and Professor McGonagall agrees with me – those things were probably sent to Harry and Lyra by Sirius Black!"

I rounded on her. "I ALREADY TOLD YOU THAT MY LOCKET WAS FINE! IF BLACK HAD SENT IT TO ME I WOULD HAVE ACTIVATED ANY CURSE PLACED ON IT THE MOMENT I PUT IT ON! THAT NECKLACE HELD MEMORYS OF OUR MOM AND DAD YOU IDIOT! IF _THEY_ TAMPER WITH THE SPELLS THAT ARE _SUPPOSED_ TO BE ON THE LOCKET, IT COULD RUIN IT!"

I could feel the tears rolling down my face, and I saw the shock on the other girl's face when she realized what I had said. "Lyra, please understand, I'm sorry, but if there's even a chance -"

"Oh shut the fuck up Granger I don't want to hear it! And I swear if I get that necklace back in _any_ condition other than the one in which it was taken in, I will kill you! You got me? Azkaban be damned!" and with that I turned to go. Before stepping out the portrait hole I stopped and looked over my shoulder. "I understand why you did this, but that doesn't change the repercussions of it. Even if my locket is returned in perfect condition Granger, I'll still not forgive you. These are _my_ family's affairs. And I don't care how close you get to my brother, I'll never accept you as one of us, surrogate family or otherwise. I'll never trust you. Truth be told, at the moment I _really_ hate you." it came out low and angry, the closest I've ever heard my human self to growling at someone. And I didn't care.

I just wanted my locket back.

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><p><strong>this chapter is sort of to show how much family matters to Lyra, how attached to them she is. taking them away on any level is not good for he psyche. at all. no she's not just a spoilt brat. please dont think she is.<strong>


	14. Silence, Patronuss, and Bells

**Ok, here's the new chapter!**

**Ja ne!**

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><p>I knew that Hermione meant well, but that didn't stop me from being angry with her. I'd been the owner of the best broom in the world for a few short hours, and now because of her interference, I didn't even know if I'd ever get to see it again. I was positive that there was nothing wrong with the Firebolt <em>now<em>, but what sort of state would it be in when I got it back?

And this wasn't even the worst part of the problem my friend had caused. My sister was in a right state. She wouldn't speak to me, Ron, or even her friend Zabini. I hadn't seen Malfoy interact with her in front of me, but I'm sure she's been giving him the same treatment she was everyone else. Ever since she had screamed at Hermione on Christmas, she'd retreated from the company of others, and had yet to speak a word.

If it was just that, then I wouldn't be anywhere near as worried as I am. but it's more. Recently she seems like she's caught between having a melt down, or blowing up and destroying something. Everything she did seemed like it was automatic, robotic even.

To be entirely honest, the most human I'd seen her in a few days was when I had seen her in the Owlry with her hawk Zephyr and my own familiar, Hedwig. And even that had been upsetting to watch.

She'd just been sitting there with her knees hugged to her chest, silent tears dripping down from her eyes, while Zephyr plucked at her hair sadly.

This new development with Lyra was only serving to fuel my anger with Hermione;

whom was still convinced that she acted for the best. She had, as of late, been absent from the common room. Ron and I believe that she has been taking refuge in the library, but we made no effort to persuade her to return.

And while I was relieved when the rest of the students returned, it was bittersweet. because, though the common room became crowded and noisy again, full of happy faces back from break, I had hoped that with more people around her, my sister would be more inclined to talk, but as it were, she still remained as mute as a blade of grass.

On an entirely different note, Wood had sought me out on the night before term started back up again. "Had a good Christmas?" he asked, and then without waiting for an answer, he sat down, lowered his voice, and said, "I've been doing some thinking over Christmas, Harry. After last mach, you know. If the dementors come to the next one... i mean... we cant afford you to - well -" Wood broke off, looking awkward.

"I'm working on it," I said quickly. "Professor Lupin said he'd train me to ward off the dementors. We should be starting this week. He said he'd have time after Christmas"

"Ah," he said, his expression clearing. "Well, in that case - I really didn't want to lose you as a Seeker, Harry. And have you ordered a new broom yet?"

"No." I said blankly. I really didn't want to discuss this right now.

"What! You'd better get a move on, you know - you can't ride that old Shooting Star against Ravenclaw!"

"He got a Firebolt for Christmas." Ron said.

"A _Firebolt? _ No! Seriously? A - a real _Firebolt?"_

"Don't get excited Oliver," I said gloomily. "I haven't got it anymore. It was confiscated." and I spent the next minute or so explaining about it now being checked for jinxes.

"Jinxed? How could it be jinxed?"

"Sirius Black." I said wearily. "He's supposed to be after me, so McGonagall reckons he might have sent it."

Waving aside the fact that a famous murderer was after his Seeker, Wood said, "But Black couldn't have bought a Firebolt! He's on the run! The whole bloody country is out looking for him. How could he just walk into Quality Quidditch Supplies and buy a broomstick?"

"I know, but McGonagall still wants to strip it down. -"

Wood went pale. "I'll go talk to her, Harry." he said. "I'll make her see reason... a _Firebolt_... a real Firebolt, on our team... she wants Gryffindor to win as much as we do... I'll make her see. a _Firebolt_."

I snapped my fingers in front of his wonderstruck face. "When you do talk to her Wood, do me a favor?" I said, glancing at the mute form of my sister, whom had entered the common room some time earlier, sitting by the window, silently playing chess with a first year. "Ask her to give back my sister's locket, and to be careful with it."

His face sobered a bit. "Is that why she's been so melancholy lately?"

I nodded. "It had memories of our mum and dad in it, she hasn't spoken since it was taken."

His face became serious at once. "Of course I'll get it back for her. Anything to cheer her up." he looked at something over his shoulder. "I have to go talk to Fred and George, so I'll talk to you later, alright mate?" I nodded as he left.

This was one of the things that had developed since my sister's arrival at Hogwarts. Although she was of our rival house, the Gryffindors as a whole had accepted her with open, and somewhat protective, arms. In fact, it was something that i had noticed about my sister. Though she put up a strong and confident front, something about her made the people around her (boys especially) want to step up and protect her. Thinking about it, I think that, subconsciously we all can _feel_ if not see, how messed up she is.

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><p>Lyra hasn't spoken to me or Draco since she returned from her brother's common room on Christmas. In fact I don't think she's spoken to anyone. I also noticed that her locket was missing, and that the Granger girl had distanced herself from the golden boys. I couldn't help thinking it had something to do with Slytherin's newest little princess.<p>

Of course, I wasn't thick enough to mention this to the dragon guarding her ivory tower. He had enough reason to dislike Granger, what with the way he was raised. But I could quite plainly see that he was suffering from the universal silent treatment Lyra was emitting.

Though the big dolt would never admit it, even to himself, he was beside himself with worry for the onyx haired young lady.

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><p>Classes started again the next day. The last thing anyone felt like doing was spending two hours on the grounds on a raw January morning, but Hagrid had provided a bonfire full of salamanders for our enjoyment, and we spent an unusually good lesson collecting dry wood and leaves to keep the fire blazing while the flame loving lizards scampered up and down the crumbling, white hot logs.<p>

I noticed that Lyra seemed in slightly lighter spirits as she watched the little creatures run around among the firewood, the shadow of a smile on her face.

The first Divination lesson of the new term was much less fun; Professor Trelawney was now teaching us palmistry, and she lost no time in informing me that I had the shortest life line she had ever seen.

It was Defense against the Dark Arts that I was keen to get to; after my conversation with Wood, I wanted to get started on my anti-dementor lessons as soon as possible. Though it would be much more enjoyable if my sister were there as well. I'd tried to talk her into coming along with me, but she had stubbornly (and silently) refused.

Which was part of the reason I was surprised at the rusty colored fox that leaped onto my shoulders as I walked up to the front of the classroom to talk to the professor after the lesson was over. but I said nothing about it as I reached the teacher's desk.

"Ah yes," said Lupin, when I reminded him of his promise, and then pausing when Lyra sneezed rather loudly. "Let me see... how about eight o'clock on Thursday evening? The History of Magic classroom should be large enough... I'll have to think carefully about how we're going to do this... We can't bring a real dementor into the castle to practice on..."

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><p>"Still looks ill, doesn't he?" commented Ron as we walked down the corridor, heading to dinner. "What d'you reckon's wrong with him?"<p>

There was a loud impatient huff from the fox still lounging on my shoulders. It was the closest my sister had come to taking in nearly two weeks.

"What?" Ron asked her. She shook her head and leapt off my shoulders, morphing in mid-jump so that she was walking in front of us as a human when she landed. "What, do you know what's wrong with Lupin?"

Looking over her shoulder at us and tapped the side of her nose, under normal circumstances, in doing such a motion, I would expect to see laughter dancing in her eyes. But not the way she was now.

Just ahead of us in the hall I could see Hermione's bushy head of hair. It seemed that my sister did as well, as she sped up her pace and bee-lined towards the other girl. Inwardly I groaned. I really hoped she wasn't dumb enough to tell 'Mione off in the middle of a semi-crowded hallway. But even if she was, at least she would be talking again.

But thats not what happened. Silently Ron and I watched as Lyra drew back her shoulder a bit before harshly slamming it into Hermione's own, knocking her messenger bag flying. She then continued walking, throwing a frighteningly vicious glare over her shoulder at 'Mione.

I was caught between shock and pity. On one hand, that was the most stereotypically Slytherin action I'd ever seen or heard of my twin preforming. But on the other hand, the simple fact that she was taking her anger out on the others just proved how upset she was.

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><p>At eight o'clock on Thursday evening, I left the Gryffindor tower for the History of Magic classroom. It was dark and empty when I arrived, but I lit up the lamps with my wand and had waited no more than five minutes before Professor Lupin showed up carrying a large packing case, which he heaved onto Professor Binn's desk.<p>

"What's that?"

He opened his mouth to answer me but someone else got there first. "Another boggart." spat a voice. Lupin and I turned to the source of the voice. I was shocked to spot Lyra sitting in the last row, indian style on top of a desk. she was glaring at the case with intense dislike. "I thought you were going to teach us how to ward off dementors. Not boggarts. And if that's it, you can forget it. I'm not going _anywhere_ near one of those blasted things."

"Lyra." said the professor, clearly thrown off kilter, "I was under the impression that Harry was the only one of the two of you who required these lessons?"

She narrowed her eyes and scowled. "No, Harry is just a lot more... vocal, shall we say, about requiring help with things. I wasn't about to pile my secrets into your memory banks just because you were friends with Dad. Not to mention the fact that I'm only here because my brother is." she turned her gaze to me. "And i know you well enough Harry to know that you've probably got about fifty questions rattling around in your head. But I'm not gong to answer them. Now or later. Only on my own time, when I feel you can handle the answers. Are we clear?" without waiting for me to answer, she spoke again to the professor. "So now that you know I'm going to be here learning as well, please get on with it. I'm exhausted, and I don't feel like having this take all bloody night." I didn't know what her issue was ,but clearly she was forcing herself to be here, and extremely uncomfortable for being so.

Lupin blinked dully for a moment before snapping out of it and clearing his throat. "Yes well, I had been planning to use the boggart as a practice dementor for Harry, but now..."

"Now that I'm here that idea is obsolete." Lyra said flatly, walking up to stand beside me.

Lupin nodded. "Well, while the ideal way of practicing the spell I will teach you is against a dementor, it can be done without." squaring his shoulders he cleared his throat. "You must both understand that this spell is highly advanced magic - well beyond the Ordinary Wizarding Level. It is called the Patronus Charm."

"How dose it work?" I asked, feeling a bit apprehensive.

"Well, when it works correctly, it conjures up a Patronus," said Lupin "which is a kind of anti-dementor - a guardian that acts like a shield between you and the dementor."

I had a sudden vision of myself crouching behind a Hagrid-sized figure holding a large club. Professor Lupin continued. "The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very thing that the dementor feeds upon - hope, happiness, the desire to survive - but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the dementors cant hurt it. But I must warn the two of you, that the charm might be to advanced for you. Many qualified witches and wizards have difficulty with it."

"What dose a Patronus look like?" I said curiously.

"Each one is unique to the wizard who conjures it."

"Like with Animagi forms?" Lyra offered

Lupin nodded. "Yes, in fact, in the case of an Animagus their Patronus's form is often the same as their Animagi form, though that is not always."

Lyra did not reply. "How is it conjured?" I asked, filling the new silence.

"With an incantation, which will work, only if you are concentrating, with all your might, on a single, very happy memory."

For a moment, I cast my mind about for a happy memory, eventually deciding on when I had first ridden a broomstick. "Right." I said, opening my eyes.

"The incantation is this -" Lupin cleared his throat _"Expecto patronum!"_

"_Expecto patronum," _I repeated under my breath _"expecto patronum."_

"Concentrating hard on your happy memory?"

"Oh - yeah -" I said, forcing my thoughts back to that first broom ride, out of the corner of my eye I saw Lyra roll her eyes. _"Expecto patrono - _no, _patronum - expecto patronum, expecto patronum -"_

Beside me i heard Lyra murmuring the same thing. Suddenly something whooshed out of the end of my wand; it looked like a wisp of silvery gas. "Did you see that?" i exclaimed, "Something happened!" I looked over at Lyra, this new development seemed to frustrate her, holding her wand in front of her she closed her eyes and murmured the incantation over and over again. Still nothing happened. The lines in her forehead increased, her muttering became more frantic, and she seemed to be getting nowhere.

"Lyra, try and keep your mind calm when attempting the spell," instructed the professor, "Focus on the memory more than the incantation itself. Alright?" she nodded and sighed.

Closing her eyes she remained silent, though I saw a calm content smile spreading over her face. She took a deep breath and then, eyes still closed, she quietly spoke. _"Expecto patronum..."_

A silver smoke like shadow spilled out of the tip of her wand, twisting around themselves, forming into a kind of shape, but before it was fully formed, it dissipated.

"That was wonderful Lyra! You nearly had it!"

She opened her eyes and smiled at the ground, but I could tell it had nothing to do with what Lupin had said. "What was your memory?" I asked, curious at what my gloom and doom sister had used to produce that.

She looked up at me, the small smile still on her lips. Now that she wasn't smiling at the floor that it was a bittersweet smile, tinged with sadness. "Mom." she said. after a moment she leaned against a desk and brought her foot up so that she could reach it, she lifted the leg of her jeans so that she could undo something on her ankle. when she put her foot back down she held up a chain adorned with tiny silver bells. "This was hers. I can remember her and dad dancing around in the living room one night, laughing. And I can remember that every time she took a step the bells would jingle." she cupped the anklet in her hand. "When I was in Godric's Hollow this summer, I went to our old home, found her jewelry box. That's also how i got Dad's watch." she said glancing at the item around my wrist. "I have a few other pieces of her old jewelry, but this is the one I wear most often. Nearly every day almost." she said, handing it to me.

The second it touched my skin I heard the sound of tiny bells. I looked up at her. "I thought it was silent..."

She nodded. "I put a spell on it. You can only hear it if you're in contact with it. I didn't want anyone saying something about it." she said.

I looked at it for a minute before handing it back, watching her put it back on, i spoke again. "So what if other people don't like it? I think it'd be nice to hear it." she looked up, something unreadable crossing her face. She looked at me for a few moments then looked down, and tapped her wand to the item _"Finite incantantem." _When she moved her leg back down to the floor, jingling could be heard.

We shared a smile.

"Your mother more that everyday from before I met her. As I understand it, it was a gift from a childhood friend." I looked at lupin, he was watching us with a sadness about him that spoke legions. We weren't the only ones who missed our parents.

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><p>Ravenclaw played Slytherin a week after the start of term. We won, though narrowly. The common room loud and rowdy, but still fun. Everyone was proud of our team for pulling off the narrow game. When Lyra tried to hug Draco in congratulations, he surprised her by kissing her cheek. she turned beet red, and shock played across her face. Drake was clearly shocked himself, but just grinned and wrapped an arm lazily around her shoulders. This earned a few wolf-whistles from a few of the older students.<p>

I rolled my eyes at his antics. How he was still in denial was beyond me. It was **obvious.** The dunce.

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><p><strong>I am begging for reveiws! (and also for votes on my polls please? they're on my profile)<strong>


	15. Nice mate, real nice

**I am proud to present the new chapter. R&R**

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><p>After my house beat Ravenclaw, assuming that Gryffindor was able to beat them as well, my brother's own house would be in second place for the tournament. Because of this, the captain of the Gryffindor team increased the number of practices to five a week. That meant that with Lupin's anti-dementor classes, which (according to harry) in themselves were more draining than six Quidditch practices, Harry had just one night a week to do all his homework.<p>

I of course, was helping as much as I could, even going as far as writing one of his charms essays for him.(When I had given it to him he was shocked simply at the fact that it looked like his own untidy scrawl, much less that I had done it for him) at least twice I'd done research for him, and I'd written the introduction to a potions essay.

With the help I was giving my brother, I was also receiving pleas from Ron to help him as well.

I told him that Harry actually needed the help I was giving, Ron was just lazy and lacked focus.

Draco was ecstatic that i'd resumed speaking, though I was still more recluse than before. Be cause of this, he and Blaise were both liable to be found following me into the library, talking non stop until I finally engaged them in conversation.

One occasion, on a Sunday night, Draco followed me into an empty classroom, where he had been rather confused when I had abruptly interrupted him telling him to 'shut up' as I took out my wand.

The look on his face had been priceless. I think he believed I was about to hex him. i laughed lightly. "I'm not going to hurt you dummy." I teased him. "I came here to practice a charm I've been learning."

His face relaxed. "Oh. What's the charm?" I rolled my eyes and rose my wand, my mind zoning in on the memory of my mom. He interrupted me again though. "Can I at least know what it dose?" He asked, popping my bubble of serene concentration.

Opening my eyes I sighed and lowered my wand. "It's called a Patronus Charm. Ok? it's meant to ward off dementors. It requires concentration, now sit down, shut up, and let me do that. Ok?" I snapped, sounding more angry than I meant it to.

Looking offended, he sat in the desk on the opposite end of the room. Though clearly ruffled, he watched with an intense sort of attention.

When I closed my eyes this time, I was acutely aware of his eyes on me. It seemed that it was my turn to be ruffled, flustered, whatever it was. All I knew was that I was beginning to blush. My mind was beginning to wander to the memory of him kissing me in the common room that night, rather than the memory of my mother. I found it becoming increasingly harder to concentrate.

Sighing, I gave up and opened my eyes. _Well as long as my mind is going in that direction, i might as well..._ Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes again and focused on the memory of the common room after the Ravenclaw match. His warm lips on my cheek. The odd warmth that sprouted in my chest, the butterfly in my heart. The giddy happiness that overlapped it all. I giggled softly, and then spoke the incantation. _"Expecto patronum..." _I breathed. A lightness appeared behind my eyelids, but I didn't open them it was probably just the same silver wisps as before.

"Is it supposed to do that?"

I opened my eyes to look at Draco who was still sitting in the back. Glancing at the lingering silver wisps, I shook my head. "No. It's not a complete Patronus. The most I can produce is a lingering silver smoke. Harry's better at it."

Draco stood up and walked to me, stopping a few feet away and leaning on a desk. "How dose it work?" he asked frowning. "I mean - how's it done?"

I fingered the handle of my wand. I didn't really want to talk right now. "You have to focus on a single really happy memory, and then speak the incantation."

His brow creased. "Seems straight forward enough, so why haven't you mastered it by now? You're great with spells."

I grimaced. "It's a really high level spell... I think it's just -"

"Since when has spell difficulty been an issue for you? Lyra, you're amazing with magic, better than Granger. Better than _me_."

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><p>When I saw the rage flash across her face, I knew she was about to yell at me. So it surprised me when she turned into a fox, and bolted from the room. What had I done wrong?<p>

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><p>Lyra spent the rest of the week avoiding me. I did however catch her in the library. I didn't talk to her, but I did notice that she was reading an advanced charms book, and beside her was a dark creatures book, open to a page with an illustration of a dementor.<p>

The next time she spoke to me was at breakfast Thursday morning, when she asked me to pass the butter for her toast. But even then her tone was clipped and purposefully indifferent.

Blaise leaned over and spoke quietly. "What did you do to her? She seems angry."

I sighed. "I think I wounded her pride the other night..."

"Oh, what'd you do?" The Italian asked.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "To be honest, I have no idea. I was telling her that the spell she's working on should be no issue for her, since she's such a good witch."

"I think that's what did it. You didn't wound her pride, you expected too much of her. She works her bum off trying to help her brother with his work, I know, I've seen them in the library on fridays working on days' worth of papers. Not to mention the fact that she's studying almost more than Granger, she's still stressed from whatever happened on Christmas, she has those nightmares of hers, working on fending off the memories that flare up practically every time she passes the dementors on the way to Hogsmeade. The poor girl has enough on her plate without you grilling her about having difficulty with a spell."

I was about to reply when Pansy and her new found crony Carly appeared out of the corner of my eye. They were talking to Lyra, who was spreading butter across a piece of pumpernickel toast (which, I had noted seemed to be her favorite bread). I caught the end of Pansy's sentence. "-going to get fat, and _my_ Drakie wont pay you any mind then." she cackled.

I glared at the pug-nosed girl. "Pansy, for one thing, I'm not 'yours'. For another, you can just bugger off, because no matter what, Lyra will _still _be more beautiful than a slag like yourself."

She looked taken aback, like she couldn't believe I had just said that. "B-but _Drakie!_"

"Didn't you hear me? Bugger off!" I said, narrowing my eyes. The girl's 'friend' dragged her off in the other direction, and i turned my attention to Lyra, whom had put down her toast and pushed it to the side. She was now staring at the table. "Lyra, why aren't you eating? Is it because of what Pansy said? Because, I'm not going to stop being your friend just because you gain a few stones."

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><p><em>That idiot. <em>He had just dug his own grave. Lyra's face went seven shades of red and back, and her eyes read death. "I don't care about that you nitwit! Ugh! You're just - UGH!" throwing up her arms in frustrated defeat, she left the table. (**A/N**: rage quit! lol)

Draco looked at me, his face having fallen significantly. "That came out wrong... didn't it?" I raised an eyebrow at him, and nodded. he sighed. "I'm going to try and talk to her..." he said, making to get up.

I put a hand on his shoulder and shoved him back down. "No, because you'll just put your foot in your mouth again. _I_ will talk to the angry fox. _You_ are going to stay here."

And with that, I got up and exited the hall. On instinct, I made my way up to the Owlry, where I found Lyra, sitting on a window ledge, Zephyr sitting on her knee, and her brother's white owl sitting on a perch next to her.

Silently, i walked over and sat next to her. I shivered as the cold January air bit into my skin. I looked over to Lyra, whom was only wearing a light cashmere sweater, with skinny jeans. "Aren't you cold?" I asked quietly.

"Did Draco send you here to talk to me?" she spat.

_Well, I guess there's no prancing around the subject here. _"No, I made him stay in the great hall." I saw her shoulders relax a bit. "I didn't want him coming to talk to you, because he would say all the wrong things. Again." she gave no reply, but I saw the corner of her mouth twitch upwards. "It's not entirely his fault you know." she raised an eyebrow at me. "He doesn't seem to know what the _right_ things to say to you are. You're both in serious denial, and because of that, the tension between the two of you is destroying your friendship."

"Denial of what Blaise, the fact that I like him?" She snapped, then realized what she said, and then I watched, for the second time today, as she turned about seven shades of red and back again. "I-I-I... T-that came out... um..."

"And _now_ we're getting somewhere." Her eyes got huge, and she buried her face in her arms with a groan. "See, he cant even admit it to himself, and because of that, he's an idiot when it comes to talking to you."

She shook her head vaguely, and then her muffled voice floated over to me. "He doesn't like me. I know he doesn't. And even if he did, Harry would _hate_ me if I pursued him. Or he me."

I rolled my eyes. "Well that aside, we can still both agree that he's an idiot. What's the hair color joke? The American one?"

"Blondes are dumb."

"Right, right. Well he's a classic case of that. He's a dumb blonde who cant talk to beautiful young women."

She lifted her head from her arms, a hint of a smile on her lips. "And you can?"

I smirked. "Of course. I'm talking to one right now." I said confidently. As if to agree with me, the hawk on her knee squawked. "See even Zephyr agrees with me."

She giggled. "Thanks Blaise. You're a good friend."

I smiled in response. "So, while I've got you here, mind telling me what happened that made you mute for two and a half weeks? You had Drake and I rather distressed about that."

She scowled. "In a word: Granger."

I quirked an eyebrow. "Oh, so you've reverted to a last name basis? Wow. What'd she do? Kick Nath?" I said, referring to her love of the dark little creature. She looked at me blankly. "Er, sorry, bad joke. But really, what did the witch do?"

"She got my locket confiscated. Along with Harry's new broomstick. She and some of the teachers, mainly McGonagall, think that because they're anonymous they might have been sent by Sirius Black. They took them so they could strip them down and check for hexes, jinxes and the like."

I could feel the shock on my face. "But that could destroy that locket!"

She nodded gravely. "I know. And Granger didn't care. I explained it to McGonagall, and while she said that they would be delicate with it, it still had to be done."

I frowned. "I'm so sorry. I know how much that locket meant to you." she nodded. we stayed silent for a while, during that time Zephyr hopped off her knee and onto mine, examining me with a single piercing eye. "So you're brother got a new broom for Christmas?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"Ya, someone got him a Firebolt."

I stared at her. _"What?_" she nodded blankly. "Why didn't you tell us? Draco's going to shit kittens when he finds out!"

This got her to laugh, I mean_ really_ laugh. Loud and clear. "I wouldn't go _that_ far, but if he wasn't being such a ponce I would have told him. So really, it's his fault. And don't you dare go telling him Zabini."

I rolled my eyes. "That's true I suppose. And fine I wont. So are you going to have a go on it when he get's it back?"

Pure horror bloomed on her face. "Are you kidding?"

I frowned. "What's wrong with that?"

She shook her head. "I'm terrified of heights, not to mention flying."

"Why?" I asked simply.

"You're kidding right? You're up in the air, at deadly heights, and the only thing keeping you there is a glorified stick of wood in between your legs."

I chuckled. "I guess that's one way of looking at it." she stuck her tongue out at me. I smirked and stood up. "Yeah yeah, c'mon or we'll both be late for potions." sighing, she stood up and followed me.

* * *

><p>Apart from the fiasco at breakfast, the day went by normally. As did the day after that, I finally forgave Draco, and life went on. January faded imperceptibly into February, with no change in the bitterly cold weather. McGonagall still refused to return my locket, even Blaise's pleads to Professor Snape were in vain.<p>

Though sad about that, it seemed that Blaise had talked to Draco about thinking before speaking, which brightened my mood when around the blond. Speaking of whom, he seemed lately far more friendly, it was a bit strange.

But that aside, the biggest problem in my life at the moment were the anti-dementor lessons with Lupin. Harry had practiced on the boggart-dementor several times, and he was able to make a silvery shadow that hung in the air like a semi-transparent cloud. Which was still more than I could do. My own Patronus hadn't progressed past that first attempt.

"I thought a Patronus would - charge the dementors down or something," He said one evening. "Make them disappear -"

"The true Patronus dose do that," said Lupin. "But you've achieved a great deal in a very short space of time. If the dementors put in an appearance at your next Quidditch match, you will be able to keep them at bay long enough to reach the ground."

"What about me? I wouldn't even be able to do that! And besides, you told us it was harder when there's more of them." I complained.

"You'll get it eventually, you're a powerful young witch, I know you'll get there." he said, smiling. "Here - you two have earned a drink - something from the Three Broomsticks. Harry you wont have tried it before -" he pulled three bottles out of his briefcase.

"Butterbeer!" said Harry. "Yeah, i like that stuff!"

Lupin raised an eyebrow.

"I brought him back a bottle of it back from Hogsmeade around Christmas time." I lied quickly, covering for my idiot brother.

"I see." said Lupin, still looking slightly suspicious. "Well - let's drink to a Gryffindor victory against Ravenclaw! Not that i'm supposed to take sides, as a teacher..." he added hastily.

We drank the butterbeer in silence, until Harry voiced something that I myself had been wondering for a while. "What's under a dementor's hood?"

Professor Lupin lowered his bottle thoughtfully. "Hmmm, well the only people who could tell us that are in no condition to do so. You see, the dementor only lowers it's hood to use it's last and worse weapon."

"What's that?" Harry asked, lowering his bottle, which was halfway to his mouth.

"They call it the Dementor's Kiss," said Lupin with a slightly twisted smile. "It's what dementors do to those they wish to destroy utterly. I suppose there must be some kind of mouth under there, because they clamp their jaws on the mouth of the victim and - and suck out his soul."

My brother spat out a bit of his butterbeer. "What - they kill -?"

"Oh no," said Lupin. "Much worse than that. You can exist without your soul, you know, as long as your brain and heart are still working. But you'll have no sense of self anymore, no memory, no... anything. There's no chance at recovery. You'll just - exist. As an empty shell. And your soul's gone forever... lost." He drank a bit more butterbeer. I realized that i'd barely touched mine. Lupin then added. "It's the fate that awaits Sirius Black. It was in the _Daily Prophet_ this morning. The ministry have given the dementors permission to preform it if they find him."

I spat out the first thought that went through my head. "He deserves it." I said darkly.

"You think so?" Lupin said lightly. "Do you really think anyone deserves that?"

"He dose." I spat back at him. "He's the one who betrayed my parents! He's the reason their dead! That Harry and I are orphans! He destroyed our family! He even killed a bunch of innocent people! He deserves to rot in a jail cell every day for the rest of his thrice damned life! He deserves the Dementor's Kiss a hundred and one times over!" I practically shouted.

A horrified look had wandered onto Lupin's face. "How would you know something like that?" he said carefully.

"I heard Fudge talking about it with some of the professors at the Three Broomsticks the last time I was in Hogsmeade." a total lie, I had been talking with Draco the last time I was there. But I wasn't about to rat Harry out.

The teacher sighed. "I'm sorry you had to find out about it like that my dear."

"I don't care! The bottom line is that I did. I hate it when people keep me in the dark about things simply because they think I'm to immature to handle it. I don't need to be coddled, I _need_ to be told the truth!" and with that said, I stormed from the room.

* * *

><p>After my sister had left, I apologized to Lupin for her and left the History of Magic classroom for Gryffindor tower. But I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts that I walked headlong into Professor McGonagall halfway up the stairs.<p>

"Do watch where you're going Potter!"

"Sorry, Professor -"

"I've just been looking for you in the Gryffindor common room. Well, here it is, we've done everything we could think of and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it at all. You've got a very good friend somewhere, Potter..."

"I can have it back?" I asked weakly. "Seriously?"

"Seriously." she said, actually smiling. "I daresay you'll need to get the feel of it before Saturday's match, wont you? And Potter - _do_ try to win, wont you? Or we'll be out of the running for the eighth year in a row, as Professor Snape was kind enough to remind me only last night..."

Speechlessly, I took the broom from her, and carried it back to the common room.

* * *

><p>After my outburst to Lupin, I had angrily stormed back to the Slytherin common room. After a short, but frustrated search, I found Blaise and Draco in a small alcoved area, which had a beautiful submerged window to the black lake. There was a small coffee table centered between the two over stuffed armchairs they were occupying. On the table was Blaise's half finished potions essay on the uses and effects of salamander blood in potions, along with a book on magical amphibians, open to a page about said salamanders, which Blaise was pouring over.<p>

Draco was staring off into space, in the direction of the window.

Walking over I picked up Blaise's essay, careful not to smudge any ink, and read it through. "You're missing the last four uses, and you should try elaborating on the effects of it, Snape'll take points off if you're not more specific." I said tiredly.

The italian looked up from the page he had been reading and frowned. "Lyra, you don't have to do that, you do enough work as is without helping me with mine."

I shrugged and put the paper down before walking over to Draco's chair, where I perched myself on the arm before morphing, and curling up on it. This seemed to catch the blond's attention, as he disturbed my comfortable position by pulling me into his lap, before then return to looking out the window. Even if I would never say it out loud, this was actually more comfortable, he was much warmer than the cold leather chair. Blaise caught my eye, a knowing gleam to them; to which I glared in response.

The three of us sat in a companionable silence, broken only by the occasional scratch of Blaise's quill, for a good while. I was actually beginning to nod off when we were all interrupted.

"I think they're over there Professor. By the window."

My ears perked up and i hopped out of Draco's lap and then up onto the table where I sat, re-examining Blaise's essay. The clearing of a throat made me look up.

"Miss Potter, not doing Zabini's work for him I trust?" drawled our head of house.

Blaise looked over to where I had appeared next to his essay. He gave an indignant sort of noise before speaking. "Lyra, I told you, you don't need to help me!" he chastised.

I blinked at him, then looked back at Snape.

"Professor McGonagall asked me to give this to you." he said blandly, holding out a silver heart on a chain. I leapt forward, morphing as I did.

After ripping it from his hand, I opened it, sighing in relief as the silver mist sprung forwards as it was meant to, becoming the smiling face of my mother.

Blaise stood up and walked over. "So it's undamaged then?"

I nodded. "Thank you Professor, for bringing it down here for me." I said turning back to him, only to find myself perplexed with the look on his face. He was staring at the memory of my mother, she was laughing and grinning. Snape's face looked caught between pain, fascination, and elation. "Er - Professor?"

This seemed to snap him out of it, for he tore his black eyes from the image, and nodded before spinning on his heel and leaving.

"Well that was... bizarre..." Blaise said slowly. I nodded in agreement. The dark skinned boy turned to his. "Has he ever done that before?"

Draco shook his head, as confused as we were.

* * *

><p>The next morning I ate breakfast with a uncomfortable Harry, a melancholy Ron, a less then helpful Fred and George, and Ginny.<p>

It seemed that the beastly cat Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, the sickly rat.

"I really don't see what he's so upset about, the poor thing was probably nearing the end of his life anyhow." I muttered to Ginny.

"Please don't say that to him." she pleaded.

"I'm not stupid Red, I wont, ok?"

"Thanks. Hey are you going to Harry's Quidditch practice?" she asked.

I shook my head. "I don't really like Quidditch all that much. Besides, as much as Wood may like me, I don't think he's entirely comfortable with a Slytherin at his practices."

"Oh, cool, because I was wondering if you had time to help me and one of my friends with a charms project this afternoon."

I beamed. "Sure. What's the project?"

"A presentation on harmonizing Charms. She wasn't feeling well the day we talked about them, so she wasn't paying attention, and I was passing notes. So..."

I smirked. "So basically, neither of you really know what the heck you're doing?" She blushed and nodded. I chuckled. "Ok, I'll help."

Her face broke into a relieved smile. "Thanks."

* * *

><p>"Hey! Lyra! Over here!"<p>

I looked in the direction of a corner table where I spotted the tell tale red Weasley hair, next to a girl of blond that was nearly white.

I felt the disapproving eyes of Madame Pince burrowing into the back of my head as i walked over to the pair. "Yell through a bullhorn why don't you?" i asked teasingly. when both girls looked confused, I shook my head. "Muggle thing, forget it."

"Ok," Ginny said, still looking a bit confused. Then she cleared her throat and gestured to her friend. "Lyra this is Luna Lovegood, Luna, this is Lyra Potter."

The girl brushed her hair behind her ear. "Hello." she said, in a soft, dreamy voice.

I smiled. "Hi. Luna's your name is it?" she smiled in response. "It's pretty."

Her dreamy smile widened a bit. "Thank you."

* * *

><p>The next morning I was late to breakfast and when I did arrive it was to see Draco, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, leaving the Gryffindor table, where Harry sat with the Firebolt. It was clear that my fellow Slytherins had been antagonizing them, from the frustrated looks on all their faces. As they neared me, I sighed at Draco. "Was that entirely necessary?" I asked<p>

I shouldn't have been surprised when he shot an angry glare at me, but I was anyway. Silently I walked over and sat beside Blaise, consequently sitting across from Draco, whom was discussing something with the rest of our house's own Quidditch team. I opened my mouth to mutter something to Blaise about Draco being an immature prat, when the aforementioned boy spoke to me directly. "What the bloody hell are you doing here Potter?" he spat.

I felt a pang in my heart. "Eating breakfast." I replied cooly.

"Well do it somewhere else. No one wants you here." he spat.

Taking a breath, I stood up and looked him square in the eye. "Go ahead, be mad that I didn't tell you about my brother's new broom. But before you take that anger out on me, think about this for a minute: he's my _brother_, I'm not about to go blabbing his business to the world. And on top of that, when he got the thing on Christmas, the next time I saw you, I was emotionally indisposed, so I'm sorry that I didn't think of your _stupid_ Quidditch game before my own upset feelings. And after that, I had forgotten about it. So again, I'm sorry if I'm not obsessed with this stupid game like you are. Some friend you are. Go fuck yourself Malfoy." And with that, I left the Great Hall.

* * *

><p>Draco's face had gone slack with regret. This really was his fault, not hers.<p>

"Nice mate, real bloody nice." I said dryly before standing up and walking after her.


	16. This is why we don't bottle shit up

**Here you go, R&R**

* * *

><p>When I caught up with Lyra, it was halfway out the doors to the grounds. "Lyra! Wait!" she didn't listen to me. I had to grab her wrist to make her stop. She didn't turn around though. "Look, ignore that idiot. He doesn't realize what he's doing sometimes. Ok? He didn't mean it."<p>

She was silent for a minute. But then, "I don't care. I'm sick of this. He's supposed to be my friend Blaise, yet he treats me like I'm the enemy. I'm done with him. However, I'd like to be alone right now." My grip went slack enough for her to jerk out of my grasp. She then morphed and walked calmly out of the castle and into the drizzle that was dropping from the clouds.

As bad as the situation was for my two friends, as I watched her walk away, I thought it was almost poetic, the rain.

* * *

><p>I didn't care that my fur was soaking wet. I didn't care that I was freezing. I didn't even care that I was missing the Quidditch game. I cared that the throbbing in my chest refused to dull. I cared that I had just lost all sense of the boy who had nearly stolen my heart. I cared that I had actually deluded myself into thinking that Draco Lucius Malfoy gave a damn about me.<p>

I walked down to the Black lake and curled up on one of the larger rocks lining the shore. The squid was splashing about again. I watched it as it swam about, allowing my mind to go numb, if only for the moment.

* * *

><p>When I entered into the Gryffindor common room, I found a party in full swing. There were even bottles of contraband butterbeer and Honeydukes sweets. I tapped Fred on the shoulder. "So you won I take it?" I asked in a surprisingly monotone voice.<p>

He nodded. "Didn't you watch the match?"

"I was dealing with something at the time."

Fred was about to say something else, concern flickering over his features, when he was interrupted by Ron saying something rather loudly. "If Scabbers hadn't just been eaten, he could have had some of those Fudge Flies. He used to really like them -"

I saw Hermione burst into tears and run to her dormitory. Without a word to Fred, I wove past him and around others to follow the bushy haired girl. I opened the door with the 'Third years" plaque on it, shutting it gently behind me.

Hermione was crying on a bed opposite the door to the circular room. Frowning I walked over and rubbed small circles on her back until her sobbing had come to an end. When she was quiet once more, i figured it was safe to speak. "For get about him Granger, he's not worth all this. Not with him acting the way he is." She blinked her watery eyes at me. "He needs to get over his dumb rat."

She still didn't say anything. "Guess you're surprised to see me?" She nodded slightly. I sighed and looked at the floor. "About that, I want to apologize for what I said to you. I'm not good at handling strong emotions, when I get angry like that, I don't think about what I say. I know that that's no excuse, but its all I have. I'm sorry Hermione. I can see that your friendship means a lot to my brother. While I was absent he found you and Ronald as a sort of replacement for the family he was deprived of as a child, and I'm grateful to you both. I don't want to potentially ruin that just because I wasn't thinking."

She nodded, making to wipe her eyes on her sleeve. I took out a handkerchief from my pack pocket and handed it to her. This earned a slightly hysterical giggle from the girl. "You actually carry one of these?" I smiled and shrugged as she dabbed at her eyes and damp cheeks. We were silent then, awkwardness filling the space between us. After a point it became nearly unbearable, and she broke the tension. "If I may ask, what about that locket is so important?"

I smiled and lifted the silver heart from my chest, pulling it away from me as far as it's extended chain would allow, and clicked it open. The image showing was that of my parents' wedding, as they said their vows. I heard a small gasp pass through Hermione's lips. I didn't say anything until after the 'I dos' and the kiss. I then snapped it shut and tucked it into my shirt. "It has others. Like, the reception, my mother laughing, my father when he was still in school, our first christmas as a family... at least twenty different memories."

I saw her move out of the corner of my eye. She had moved her hands from where they had been covering her mouth. "But, I mean, why would someone send a gift like that to you but not Harry? If they sent the broom as well..."

"I think they did. And it's probably because Harry's a boy, and he's involved in Quidditch. I'm just a bit more family oriented than him." I said, though a bit to quickly.

"You're lying." Fuck... "You are aren't you? Why?"

I looked at her for a minute, critically searching her face. Could I trust her not to tell? She was so close to my brother... "It's complicated. And besides, I haven't even explained myself to Harry yet. As much as he may not think so, and as much confidence as I have in him, there are some burdens he isn't yet capable of bearing. And there are some secrets, some memories, that should remain buried, remain secret."

She stayed silent for a minute more before replying. "You're what my mom would call a case of thirteen going on thirty. I mean, most of the time you're normal like your brother, but then times like this... you're just so much more mature than we give you credit for."

I chuckled. "You should try talking to Blaise Zabini. I swear he's like some kind of bedside manor genius. More than once the kid's kept me from having melt downs." I said, diverting the conversation's attention from myself. She made a face. "Don't worry, he's not like most other Slytherins, he'd talk to you like any normal person."

"But isn't he Malfoy's best friend? I always see them together..."

I groaned and fell back onto the bed. "Don't even talk about that damn prat. And while its true, they are, Blaise is still his own person." then, clearing my throat I said, "Speaking of best friends, did you and my brother make up yet?" She nodded, a small smile on her face. "That's good. And hey, don't worry about Ron, he'll come 'round. Now, let's go back downstairs ok?"

She then shook her head, letting out a shaky breath, and laying a hand on the enormous book beside her. "I need to finish this by Monday..."

"Well alright. See you tomorrow?" I asked her, standing up.

She nodded. "See you tomorrow."

When I arrived back in the common room, Harry was waiting to ambush me. "Is she ok?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Hi to you too. And yes, she's fine. She's upstairs reading."

He looked relieved, but then that disappeared as he eyed me. "And what about you?"

"What about me?" I said, hoping he wasn't asking what I thought he was.

"This morning at breakfast, you left practically the second you arrived. Did something happen?"

I closed my eyes. "For get about it ok? It's no longer important." Without waiting for him to continue pestering me, i walked over to where the twins were. "Hey boys." I said.

"Hey Lyra! Fred said you didn't go to the match, what's up with that?" George asked frowning.

I smiled and shrugged. "I was otherwise occupied, forgot to do a charms essay. How was the match? Ravenclaw give you any trouble?"

Fred grimaced. "No but Slytherin did." I raided an eyebrow, confused. "Malfoy, and a few of his mates tried to sabotage your brother, dressed up like dementors. But it turned out alright, Harry didn't even blink. Created some sort of silver shield that went between him and them. The look on Malfoy's face was priceless." he laughed.

The fact that they had gone that far to try and mess with my brother was bad enough, but even as angry as i already was at him, even as much as I wanted to not care, Draco's involvement seemed to me, worse than the others. I didn't let it get to me though, smiling and saying, "Oh, so Harry created a solid Patronus then? That's an improvement, last time we practiced it was still just a foggy cloud."

The party went on until almost one in the morning when McGonagall showed up in her nightgown telling us that enough was enough and to get some sleep. She offered to escort me to the dungeons, but i declined, saying I would sleep on the armchair by the fire.

* * *

><p>When I woke up it was by shouting from a voice I vaguely recognized as Ron's. Yawning I stood up, realizing that most of the Gryffindors were back in the common room.<p>

"Excellent! Are we carrying on?" One of the twins asked brightly, rubbing my eyes i distinguished him as Fred.

"Everyone back upstairs!" said Percy, hurrying into the common room and pinning his Head Boy badge to his pajamas as he spoke.

"Perce - Sirius Black!" Ron said faintly. "In our dormitory! With a knife! Woke me up!"

I felt myself go very still, along with everyone in the room. My blood felt it had shards of ice running through it.

"Nonsense!" Said the older Weasley, looking startled. "You had too much to eat, Ron - had a nightmare -"

"I'm telling you -"

"Now really! Enough's enough!" Numbly, I looked to where Professor McGonagall was entering the room, slamming the portrait hole behind her as she stared around furiously. "I am delighted that Gryffindor won the match, but this is getting ridiculous! Percy, I expected better from you!"

"I certainly didn't authorize this, Professor!" He said, puffing himself up indignantly. "I was just telling them all to get back into bed! My brother Ron here had a nightmare -"

"IT WASN'T A NIGHTMARE!" Ron yelled. "PROFESSOR I WOKE UP, AND SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME, HOLDING A KINFE!"

The deputy headmistress stared at him. "Don't be ridiculous, Weasley, how could he possibly have gotten through the portrait hole?"

"Ask him!" said Ron, pointing a shaking finger at the back of Sir Cadogan's picture "Ask him if he saw -"

Glaring suspiciously at Ron, Professor McGonagall pushed the portrait back open and went outside. The whole common room listened with baited breath. "Sir Cadogan, did you just let a man into Gryffindor Tower?"

"Certainly, good lady!" cried the painting.

there was a stunned silence, during which I saw black spots at the edge of my vision, and someone gripped my shoulders from behind to keep me from falling. And then it went black.

* * *

><p>When my sister woke up again she broke the silence that had accumulated in the common room. Her gasp cutting through the silence like a knife through warmed butter. I hovered over her searching her face for a sign that she was in fact, alright. She stared at me wide eyed. "How?" she croaked. then cleared her throat and tried again. "How did he get in?"<p>

"He had the passwords."

She sat up and began to shake, Wood put a hand on her shoulder, trying in vain to calm her. Lyra morphed and began pacing in a short path, her fur bristling along her spine. No one stopped her. We were all a bit wired.

No one in Gryffindor Tower slept that night. We all knew that the castle was being searched again, and the whole House stayed awake in the common room, waiting to hear whether Black had been caught. Professor McGonagall came back at dawn, to tell us that he had again escaped.

* * *

><p>The entire rest of the morning I felt paranoid and jumped at even the lightest brush on the shoulder from a passing ghost or student. Blaise had tapped me on the shoulder at breakfast, and I nearly screamed.<p>

"Jumpy today?" he said, chuckling.

"I was in the Gryffindor common room last night and -"

"Oh that's right... yeah, I heard about Black. Draco flipped out when someone reminded him you were up there." he said, sitting down.

"And I care about that why?" I asked, my voice switching to a clipped brisk tone.

He sighed. "Look, you need to make up sooner or later. Lyra, I talked to him a bit last night, and the bloke's really sorry for the way he acted to you. And especially after last night he -"

"Lyra!" I looked in front of me to see Malfoy sitting down, then pointedly looked away. "Are you ok? I heard -"

"Did you hear something Blaise?" I asked. He looked at me, bemused. "Anyway, he's still being a prat, and I'm done with his crap. Especially with that little stunt of his at the match. End of discussion. I have to go find Gin so that I can talk to her about a charms... thing. See you later."

I spent that night in the Gryffindor Tower as well. I had sat up with Harry and Ron in their dormitory discussing their talk with Hagrid.

"He's right you know. People can be immensely dull when it comes to their pets. Hermione is just being protective. and As far as Scabbers, no offense meant Ron, but that little guy gave me goose bumps. There was something weird about him. Even Nath and Zephyr didn't like him."

"Ya but your bird never went after him, the cat did." he said scowling. "I really hate cats."

I rolled my eyes. "Ron he's a cat. what did you expect, that he would be best of friends with your rodent? And Zephyr only held back because he's got more self control. But that's not the point here, Hermione's your friend. I made peace with her, you should as well." I said quite seriously.

"All she did to you was lose you your locket for a few weeks, her pet killed mine. The two aren't even remotely the same."

I sighed and leaned back against the bed post, closing my eyes. "Have ether of you ever heard of a Pensieve Locket?" I asked opening my eyes.

Ron was nodding. "My dad saved for three years and bought Mum one for their anniversary. They hold memories, and let you look at them whenever you open the thing. Why?"

I dug the locket out of my blouse. "That's what this is." I tugged it over my head and passed it to Harry. "The spells on it are intricate and very precariously balanced. When McGonagall said they were going to strip it down, I was terrified that it would be destroyed. That's why I was so upset. But it's not so much the locket itself, but the memories it has in it." I looked at my brother. "I kept meaning to tell you about it Harry, but I never really got a chance." I nodded at where it sat in his palm. "Open it."

Frowning in confusion he did as told. The mist dimly lit up the room as the colors glowed and swirled in the dark. It was the memory of the wedding reception. Our mother and father were cutting the cake.

"Ron, they are not the same, but just as grave. I am sorry that you lost your pet, but in my opinion, your friend should mean more to you than an old, sickly rat." I told him, not looking away from the memories. I saw something on Harry's face. "Harry, are you going to be ok?"

He wiped the tear from his face. "I'm fine, I'm fine." he muttered.

We sat like that, the three of us, watching the locket play the memories of someone none of us knew.

No one spoke the rest of the night

* * *

><p>I spent the next week in the Gryffindor tower, only returning to my own respective dorm for a change of cloths.<p>

On the next Saturday, Harry packed up Dad's old cloak and the map he had shown me a few days ago. The plans were to sneak him into Hogsmeade. I went the normal way with Ron, and we waited by Honeydukes.

It was a while before he joined us however. I saw Ron jump a bit and then heard my brother's voice. "It's me."

"What kept you?" I hissed.

"Snape was hanging around..."

We set off up High Street.

The three of us went to the post office, then to Zonko's joke shop. And then to the Shrieking Shack, which was supposed to be the most haunted building in Britain. This was not something that posed any true interest from me, so I parted ways with the boys at this time.

I wandered a bit for a few minutes, that was before a certain unwanted blond moron crashed into me. "What the - Malfoy!" I stood back up, ready to unleash a bit of my pent up anger towards him, when I noticed the mud coating his head, and caking his robes. I chuckled. "So I see that someone finally put you in your place." I said crossing my arms, and scowling cruelly at him. "After all Malfoy, many could make an argument that it's the purebloods that deserve to wallow in the mud, rather than the muggleborns."

Looking very shocked and insulted, the boy walked away, nose turned upwards.

I walked back up to the one eye'd witch passageway, Harry climbed out of it nearly the moment I got there. "Ah, perfect timing, you'll never guess what I just -" I noticed that he was sweaty and his hands were muddy. I rolled my eyes. "Of course it was you." was all I got to say before someone walked around the corner, it was my head of house, the infamously cold Severus Snape. Well crap.

"So." he said. Harry was trying to look innocent, shoving his muddy hands into his pockets. "Come with me. Both of you." We followed him downstairs to his office. I had only been here the one time i had turned in the werewolf essay. "Sit." Quietly i lowered myself into one of the two armchairs in front of his desk. Snape however, remained standing.

"Mr. Malfoy has just been to see me with a strange story, Potter."

"To which one of us are you speaking?" I said irately.

"Pardon?"

"We're both Potters. Just referring to us by our last names makes it confusing. So, to whom are you speaking... sir." I said, trying to keep the frustration from my voice.

He narrowed his eyes at me. "He tells me that he was up by the Shrieking Shack when he ran into Mr. Weasley - apparently alone." My brother said nothing. "Mr. Malfoy states that he was standing, talking to Weasley, when a large amount of mud hit him in the back of the head. how do you think that could have happened?"

Harry made a near visible effort to look mildly surprised. "I don't know Professor."

Snape's eyes were boring maliciously into Harry's. "Mr. Malfoy then saw an extraordinary apparition. Can you imagine what that was, Mr. Potter?" Harry shook his head. "Your head. Floating in midair."

There was a long silence. "Maybe he should go to Madam Pomfrey," I said, nervousness leaking into my voice. I prayed he didn't hear it. "If he's seeing things like -"

"What would your head be doing in Hogsmeade, Potter?" he asked softly, ignoring me entirely. "Your head is not allowed in Hogsmeade. No part of your body dose."

"I know that." my brother croaked. "It sounds like Malfoy's having hallucin -"

"Malfoy is not having hallucinations," snarled the older man. He leaned down, a hand on each arm of harry's chair. "If your head was in Hogsmeade, so was the rest of you."

"I've been up in my common room." Harry said defiantly. "Like you told -"

"Can anyone confirm that?"

My brother didn't say anything.

"So." Snape said, straightening up again. "Everyone from the Minister of Magic downward has been trying to keep the famous Harry and Lyra Potter safe from Sirius Black. But it seems that famous Harry Potter is a law unto himself. Let the ordinary people worry about his safety! Famous Harry Potter goes where he wants, with no thought for the consequences." he said, sneering at both of us. I had done nothing, why was I even here? "How extraordinarily like your father you are Potter" Snape spat suddenly, his eyes glinting. My blood ran cold. My hands fisted in my lap. My father was a great man. "He too was exceedingly arrogant. A small amount of talent on the Quidditch field made him think he was a cut above the rest of us too. Strutting about the castle with his friends and admirers... The resemblance between you is uncanny."

"My dad didn't strut." Harry said, oblivious to the shaking rage building in me. Our father was a great man. Brave, kind, wonderful. "And nor do I." Harry said, finishing his sentence.

"Your father didn't set much store by the rules either," Snape went on, his face filled with malice. "Rules were for lesser mortals, not for Quidditch Cup-winners. His head was so swollen -"

"SHUT UP!" I screamed at him, suddenly on my feet.

"What did you just say to me?"

"I told you to shut the bloody hell up about our dad! You know nothing about him! He was nothing like you say! You hear? He was a great man!"

Snape's mouth twisted into a condescending, cruel smile. "You stupid girl, you are the one who didn't know him. I'd wager that you don't even remember what he looked like without the view of pictures."

"YOU WANNA BET YOU SLIMY HAIRED ASSHOLE? BECAUSE I WOULD WIN THAT FUCKING BET!" I screamed. I didn't even register Snape's scandalized face as I sucked in air for the on coming tirade. "I remember everything about him! And Mum! He was kind! Loving! Brave! Loyal! Wonderful! He cared for others more than himself! He would dance with mother in our living room! He would spend time with me and Harry! We went on outings to the park! He would play with me and my brother in the living room! He read us stories! HE TRIED TO BLOODY SAVE US FROM VOLDEMORT! YOU SAY I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT HE LOOKS LIKE WELL FINE, BECAUSE I CAN TELL YOU! BLACK HAIR, GLASSES, BROWN EYES, STRAIGHT TEETH! HE WAS A WONDERFUL MAN, AND I'M NOT GOING TO SIT HERE ANT LISTEN TO YOU INSULT HIM!"

* * *

><p>I don't think that Snape cared that she had cursed at him. I think that for once he and I were on the same page for once. Because we had both just heard what Lyra had said. And we were now both staring dumbly at her as she heaved in deep breaths, which were verging on hyperventilation, as tears poured down her red cheeks, flushed with anger.<p>

"So fuck you." she spat at him, before turning and storming out of the office.

* * *

><p><strong>Ok, so what did you think?<strong>


	17. Black pt1: Wormtail and Padfoot

**Oh my god, I'm soooo sorry that I've been gone so long. I was seriously depressed for a few months due to some personal issues. And then I had stuff with marching band. But thats no excuse and I know that! I'm soooo so sorry. In attempt to make it up to you, I'm going to bust my ass for the next few days and write several new (Long) chapters. The next two in particular will wrap up the third book, as well as pull Lyra out of her dark cloud phase, via an emotional roller coaster.**

**I OWN NOTHING!**

**Ja ne!**

* * *

><p>Lyra went missing. For three days straight. <em>No one<em> knew where she was. No one had even so much as seen the edge of her robes or the end of her tail disappearing around a corner. She was just...gone. Some of the more emotional teachers were in a state of panic, others who had a better hold of themselves were collected but still worried. I noticed that Potter was seeming to be making more of an effort to hate Snape. While Snape himself was more dreary than usual, a bit more bitter as well.

And then out of no where, she miraculously returned. She showed up to transfiguration like she hadn't even been gone.

But she was in a black mood. The kind that made people who'd grown up with magic worry that she was going to loose control of her power. The rooms she entered seemed to almost literally get darker. While before, she'd seemed to have a mild respect for Snape, she now seemed to loath him more than all of Gryffindor and Huffelpuff combined. And she wasn't talking again. Not to mention avoiding Harry like he was the plague.

One thing her absence had managed to catch the attention of was Draco. He'd stopped acting like a ponce finally and had been loosing his mind. However after her return, he'd returned from every one of his attempts to talk to her with his tail between his legs. From what he said to me, she wouldn't even say anything, just gave him a look that could shatter diamonds and wither a field of Everblossoms.

So far as I knew, no one really knew what her problem was. Her brother seemed to know, as did Snape, but they were tight lipped about the whole affair.

I heard from one of the girls in her dormitory that she'd forgotten to put the silencing charm on her curtains one night, and they'd all woken up to her screaming for her mother and father. They were apparently too freaked out by it to even make fun of her. They couldn't wake her up either, and had ended up putting her in a full body bind and silencing her while one of them ran to get Pomfrey. The fact that they weren't tearing the mickey out of her for it, or spreading rumors, spoke for itself.

"Blaise?" I looked over to see Draco sitting up in bead, examining his Christmas gift from her. I hummed to show that I was listening. "What do you think's wrong with her?" he asked lowly, though not angrily.

"What do I look like to you? A Lyra Potter encyclopedia?" I griped. He gave me an irritated look, to which I sighed. "Wish I knew mate. I'd say she was depressed, but she's not sad. I'd say she's mad, but her problem is obviously deeper than that. And she's not crazy, no matter how much we guys may claim that women are nuts anyway."

"Actually Blaise I think you're wrong." the two of us looked over to Theo, who was sitting on his bed, a nose stuck in a book with a group of teenagers on the front, goofing off and grinning at each other. He looked up, a concerned look on his face. "You two aren't the only people concerned about her you know. And you should learn how to look past the end of your noses."

I rolled my eyes. "Alright, o wise and knowledgeable Theodore. How am I so very wrong?"

He indicated the book in his hand, probably a psychology book. It was common knowledge that Theo Nott seemed to want to do something involving psychology when he got older. Wanted to help people. Rather unSlytherinly if you asked most of us. "This is a book on teenage psychology." So I was right. "Listen to this and tell me who it sounds like:

'_Irritability, anger, or hostility_

_Tearful, or frequent crying_

_Withdrawal from some family or friends, but not all_

_Restlessness or agitation_

_Lack of enthusiasm or motivation_

_Difficulty concentrating_

_Violence'_

_Extreme sensitivity to criticism'_

"It sounds like Lyra." Draco said once Theo was done rattling off symptoms. "She's been getting angry over stupid little things, she blows up at the slightest provocation. She cries too much, though never over stupid things. She's stopped talking again, but before that she was pulling away anyway. She's violent. And I criticized her about not being able to do a spell, and she blew up at me."

Theo nodded sadly. "Those are ear marks of teenage depression." He looked back down at the book, frowning.

_'Teenagers face a host of pressures, from the changes of puberty to questions about who they are and where they fit in. The natural transition from child to adult can also bring parental conflict as teens start to assert their independence. With all this drama, it isn't always easy to differentiate between depression and normal teenage moodiness. Making things even more complicated, teens with depression do not necessarily appear sad, nor do they always withdraw from others. For some depressed teens, symptoms of irritability, aggression, and rage are more prominent. If you're unsure if an adolescent in your life is depressed or just "being a teenager," consider how long the symptoms have been present, how severe they are, and how different the teen is acting from his or her usual self.'_

"And this is talking about teens who haven't been through the things that she has. Can you even imagine how much worse off she is? Especially with Black roaming about?"

Draco and I shared meaningful looks. I sighed. "Mate, you got any idea where she might be right now?" It was about ten in the morning on a Saturday, but she hadn't been at breakfast, again. We'd come back to our dorm to be lazy for once.

He stared up at the ceiling for a minute before sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of his bed, putting his shoes back on. "I think so." he said. "She has a hiding spot in the library."

I got up and put my shoes on too. "I'm going with you. She's my friend too, and you might end up with your foot in your mouth if I don't."

"You're probably right." he grumbled.

"I'm going too." Theo said. "I've talked to her before, and she seems nice. Besides, if she doesn't want to talk to you, or gets railed up, I can play the impartial third party."

* * *

><p>The blond ended up leading us to a reading nook in the library, tucked into a corner in such a way that the only way too or from it was a single narrow gap between two bookshelves. it was practically another room entirely, a square one with walls of stone and books and wood. there were four couches surrounding a coffee table, each in a shade of the primary house colors: a deep burgundy, a dark emerald green, a cool blue, a subdued yellow.<p>

On the coffee table, several books and various papers were spread on the side facing the green couch. On the couch itself sat a still venomous dark haired young girl. She was wearing a black tank top and an old pair of ripped and scuffed jeans, ink stained her hand and fingertips. Her hawk sat off to the side, eyeing us warily as we walked to his mistress, and her cat was curled up next to her. Draco cleared his throat, but she didn't look up from the essay she was writing.

"Lyra please look at us." I said gently. A moment passed before she huffed in irritation and tilted her head up to give the three of us a look of deep loathing. Though I think we all were conscious of the fact that that loathing didn't seem to really be aimed at us. I cleared my throat before speaking again. "We're worried about you. We need to know what's wrong."

The tree of us took seats on the Ravenclaw couch opposite her. She stared at us for a moment before actually saying anything. "You are whats wrong. All three of you, my brother, his stupid little friends, Snape, Dumbledore, this whole fucking school is what's wrong." she spat dangerously. "I'm sick of all of you. I hate every single bit of it." Her eyes were glittered darkly. Their usual cool emerald green looked very much like poison, or acid. It made all of us shift uncomfortably.

"What happened Lyra?" Draco tried. She gave him a look of deep anger. "Why are you being like this? It's scaring me. When Blaise and I met you on the train you were such a happy girl. But you've been getting steadily darker as a person to this point, it's almost frightening."

"Why the fuck should _you_ care Malfoy." It wasn't really a question. "You've been a selfish spoilt brat for ages, but I never said a word. You pretended to be my friend and then when I did even the smallest thing that you didn't like, you blew up at me. The evidence of your being an only child as well as a pureblood is written in your very nature by this point. Sure you can be charming when you want to be, suave and elegant, everything your parents raised you to be; but under it all you're nothing but a selfish child who can't think for himself."

How did this turn into a discussion on Draco's character flaws? Draco fell silent again. Theo cleared his throat. "Lyra, have you ever been diagnosed for depression?" _Here we go. Just what we need, another excuse for her to hex us into next month._

However, she became eerily calm, looking at Theo with a guarded expression. "How is that _any_ of your concern?"

He sighed calmly. "It's not, but if you have been then you should seek help."

"I don't need your help." She spat. "I don't need anyone's help. My problems are just that, mine, my own." Her eyes narrowed dangerously. With that, she stood and walked away, flicking her wand at the mess on the table, which instantly packed itself together and then shrank before Zephyr plucked it off the table and into his claws before following after her. Nath yawned before scurrying to catch up.

"Well," I said deflatedly, "that went well."

* * *

><p>Ordinarily I would have found the boys' actions to try and help endearing and sweet. However as was usual lately, the black rolling anger inside my chest made their efforts all for not. Yet even with my stoney resistance to them, I'm glad none of them had tried to physically reach out, for I felt as though my anger and resistances would break as easily as fine and delicate china upon a hard stone floor.<p>

The dam would have broken and I would have broken down.

I wanted to keep being angry at Snape. I wanted to continue to be angry at Sirius Black. I wanted to remain strong. But inside the ball of anger was a weeping, desperate sadness. And I feared the day that it was unleashed.

I took my locket out from the depths of my shirt, opening it to see a vision of my mother and father dancing merrily in a courtyard, by a fountain. By their cloths and the leaves on the ground, it was clear that it was autumn. I bit my lip and watched them a moment longer before shutting it and squaring my shoulders. I had exams to prepare for, I didn't have time to be a pathetic little girl who missed her mummy. Never mind that Nott had been spot on.

* * *

><p>Easter holiday was a nightmare. There were piles and piles of homework to be done. After it ended, Gryffindor won the Quidditch cup, distracting Harry so that I didn't have to work nearly as hard to avoid him. And the Slytherins were preoccupied with sulking so it was much the same. I heard that Hermione slapped Malfoy just before the cup, so she and my Gryffindor boys were back to normal. I also heard that she walked out on Trelawney for good; not that I could really blame her.<p>

When exams rolled around, I found them easy. Though my DADA exam was literally a nightmare. Another boggart. I couldn't think of a way to make him funny, so I simply set him aflame, laughing falsely until he exploded. I said nothing to Lupin as I left the room. Come to think of it, I think there was a reason that I was the last third year to be examined for that class.

And then, even after all my avoiding, Hermione crashed into me just as I was walking past the one eyed witch's statue. Even though I was angry, I couldn't muster the energy to snap at her. She seemed to have just come from the passage, and was holding my father's old cloak.

"Oh my gosh! Lyra!" She looked upset over something, and a bit panicked. "You've got to come - quick!" Hermione grabbed my hand and dragged me to Gryffindor tower.

The common room was quite deserted except for Harry and Ron. They seemed downcast, though upon seeing the two of us, they lit up.

"Hermione, I don't know what's gotten into you lately!" said Ron, astounded. "First you hit Malfoy, then you walk out on Professor Trelawney, and now you're dragging Lyra around and saving invisibility cloaks?"

Hermione looked rather flattered.

Harry looked at me worriedly. "Are you, you know, ok?"

Instead of answering his question, I sighed impatiently. "Will one of you please tell me what's going on?"

Ron handed me a piece of parchment.

_"Lost appeal. They're going to execute at sunset. Nothing you can do. Don't come down. I don't want you to see it._

_Hagrid"_

I looked up at them, the ball in my chest constricting. "We're going anyway I assume?" They nodded grimly.

We went down to dinner with everybody else, myself sitting with the Gryffindors, though talking very little. We did not however, return to the tower afterward. Harry had the cloak hidden down the front of his robes; he had to keep his arms folded to hide the lump. The four of us skulked in an empty chamber off the entrance hall, listening, until we were sure it was deserted. We heard a last pair of people hurrying across the hall and a door slamming. Hermione poked her head around the door.

"Ok," she whispered. "no one there - cloak on-"

I morphed so they would have more room, and sat on my brother's shoulders. They walked close together so that no one would see us, and crossed the hall on tiptoe beneath the cloak, then walked down the stone front steps into the grounds. The sun was already sinking behind the Forbidden Forest, gilding the top branches of the trees. We reached Hagrid's cabin and knocked. He was a minute in answering, and when he did, he looked all around for a visitor, pale-faced and trembling.

"It's us." Harry hissed. "We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we can take it off."

"Yeh shouldn've come!" Hagrid whispered, but he stood back, and we stepped inside. Hagrid shut the door quickly and Harry pulled off the cloak as I leapt to the floor and changed.

Hagrid was not crying, nor did he throw himself upon our necks. He looked like a man who where he was or what to do. The helplessness was worse to watch than tears.

"Wan' some tea?" he said. His great hands were shaking as he reached for the kettle.

"Where's Buckbeak, Hagrid?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

"I - I took him outside," said Hagrid, spilling milk all over the table as he filled up the jug. "He's tethered in me pumpkin patch. Thought he oughta see the trees an' - an' smell fresh air - before-"

Hagrid's hand trembled so violently that the milk jug slipped from his grasp and shattered all over the floor.

"I'll do it Hagrid," said Hermione quickly, hurrying over and starting to clean up the mess.

"There's another one in the cupboard." Hagrid said, sitting down and wiping his forehead on his sleeve. Harry and Ron shared hopeless glances.

Unable to look on, I walked to where Hermione was kneeling on the floor. Wordlessly I waved her off. _"Terego" _I mumbled, waving my wand at the spilt milk. I waved it again at the jug. _"Reparo" _Hermione looked sheepish for having not thought of it first. I shrugged at her.

"Isn't there anything anyone can do, Hagrid?" Harry asked fiercely, sitting down next to him. "Dumbledore-

"He's tried." said Hagrid. "He's got no power ter overrule the Committee. He told 'em Buckbeak's all right, but they're scared... Yeh know what Lucius Malfoy's like...threatened 'em I expect...an' the executioner, Macnair, he's an old pal o' Malfoy's...but it'll be quick an' clean...an' I'll be beside him..."

Hagrid swallowed. His eyes were darting all over the cabin as though looking for some shred of hope or comfort.

"Dumbledore's gonna come down while it - while it happens. Wrote me this mornin'. Said he wants ter - ter be with me. Great man, Dumbledore..."

Hermione, who'd been rummaging in Hagrid's cupboard for a clean milk jug, let out a small, quickly stifled sob. She straightened, a jug in her hands, one glance told me she was holding back tears. I tensed my jaw, the ball in my chest constricted around my heart again. "We'll stay with you too, Hagrid." she began, but Hagrid shook his shaggy head.

"Yeh're ter go back up ter the castle. I told yeh, I don' wan' yeh wachin'. An' yeh shouldn' be down here anyway... If Fudge an' Dumbledore catch yeh out without permission, Harry, Lyra, yeh'll be in big trouble."

Silent tears were now running down Hermione's face, but she hid them from Hagrid, bustling around making tea. Then as she picked up the milk bottle to pour some into the jug, she let out a shriek.

"Ron! I - I don't believe it - it's _Scabbers_!"

Ron gaped at her.

"What're you talking about?"

Hermione carried the milk jug over to the table and turned it upside down. With a frantic squeak, and much scrambling to get back inside, Scabbers the rat came sliding out onto the table.

"Scabbers!" said Ron blankly. "Scabbers what are you doing here?"

He grabbed the struggling rat and held him up to the light. Scabbers looked dreadful. He was thinner than ever, large tufts of hair had fallen out, leaving wide bald patches, and he writhed in Ron's hands as though desperate to free himself.

"It's ok, Scabbers!" said Ron. "No cats! There's nothing here to hurt you!"

Hagrid suddenly stood up, his eyes fixed on the window. His normally ruddy face had gone the color of parchment.

"They're comin..."

The four of us whipped around. A group of men were walking down the distant castle steps. In front was Albus Dumbledore, his silver beard gleaming in the dying sun. Next to him trotted Cornelius Fudge. Behind them came the feeble old Committee member and the executioner, Macnair.

"Yeh gotta go," said Hagrid. Every inch of him was trembling. "They mustn' find yeh here... Go now..."

Ron stuffed Scabbers into his pocket and Hermione picked up the cloak.

"I'll let yeh out the back way." said Hagrid.

We followed him to the door into his back garden. I felt oddly, as though I was in a dream, and even more so when we saw Buckbeak a few yards away, tethered to a tree behind Hagrid's pumpkin patch. Buckbeak seemed to know something was happening. He turned his sharp head from side to side and pawed the ground nervously.

"It's ok Beaky," said Hagrid "It's ok..." He turned to the four of us. "Go on," He said. "Get goin."

But we didn't move. All at once the others started talking.

"Hagrid, we cant-

"We'll tell them what really happened -"

"They cant kill him -"

"Go!" said Hagrid fiercely. "It's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all!"

We had no choice. As I morphed and Hermione threw the cloak over Harry and Ron, we heard voices at the front of the cabin. Hagrid looked at the place we had just vanished from sight.

"Go quick." he said hoarsely. "Don' listen..." and then he strode back into his cabin as someone knocked at the front door.

Silently, in a kind of horrified trance, Harry, Ron, and Hermione set off silently around Hagrid's house. I sat rigidly on my brother's shoulders, jaw clenched painfully and breathing shallowly. As we reached the other side, the front door closed with a sharp snap.

"Please, lets hurry," Hermione whispered. "I can't stand it, I can't bear it..."

We started up the sloping lawn towards the castle. The sun was sinking fast now; the sky had turned to a clear purple-tinged grey, but to the west there was a ruby-red glow.

Ron stopped dead.

"Oh, please, Ron," Hermione began.

"It's Scabbers - he wont - stay put -"

Ron was bent over, trying to keep Scabbers in his pocket, but the rat was going berserk; squeaking madly, twisting and flailing, trying to sink his teeth into Ron's hand.

"Scabbers, it's me, you idiot, it's Ron." Ron hissed.

We heard a door open behind us and men's voices.

"Oh, Ron, please let's move, they're going to do it!" Hermione breathed.

"Okay - Scabbers, Stay _put_ -"

We walked forward; like Hermione, I was trying not to listen to the rumble of voices behind us. Ron stopped again.

"I can't hold him - Scabbers, shut up, everyone'll hear us -"

The rat was squealing wildly, but not loudly enough to cover up the sounds drifting from Hagrid's garden. There was a jumble of indistinct male voices, a silence, and then, without warning, the unmistakable swish and thud of an axe.

Hermione swayed on the spot.

She said something to Harry, but I couldn't hear her over the roaring in my ears. I felt a pressure in my throat that I knew would have been a scream if I was human at the moment. My mind was blank. The four of us stood transfixed with horror under the Invisibility Cloak. The very last rays of the setting sun were casting a bloody light over the long-shadowed grounds. Then, behind us, we heard a wild howling.

"Hagrid." Harry muttered. Seemingly without thinking about what he was doing, he made to turn back, but the others seized his arms.

"We can't," said Ron, who was paper white. "He'll be in worse trouble if they know we've been to see him..."

Hermione's breathing was shallow and uneven. "How - could - they?" she choked. "How _could_ they?"

"Come on." said Ron, who's teeth seemed to be chattering.

We set off back toward the castle, walking slowly to keep hidden beneath the cloak. The light was fading fast now. By the time we reached open ground, darkness was settling like a spell around us.

"Scabbers keep still." Ron hissed, clamping a hand over his chest. The rat was wriggling madly. Ron came to a sudden halt, trying to force Scabbers deeper into his pocket. "What's the matter with you, you stupid rat? Stay still - OUCH! He bit me!"

"Ron, be quiet!" Hermione whispered urgently. "Fudge'll be out here in a minute -"

"He won't - stay - put-"

Scabbers was plainly terrified. He was writhing with all his might, trying to break free of Ron's grip.

"What's the _matter_ with him?"

But I'd just caught a scent that always lingered on Hermione's clothing, only far fresher. Crookshanks. I looked around, narrowing my eyes when I saw him; slinking towards us, his body low to the ground, wide yellow eyes glinting eerily in the darkness. Whether he could see us or was following the sound of Scabbers's squeaks, I couldn't tell.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione moaned. "No, go away, Crookshanks! Go away!"

But the cat was getting nearer -

"Scabbers - NO!"

Too late - the rat had slipped between Ron's clutching fingers, hit the ground, and scampered away. In one bound, Crookshanks sprang after him, and before any of us could stop him, Ron had thrown off the Invisibility Cloak himself and pelted away into the darkness.

_"Ron!"_ Hermione moaned.

I jumped from Harry's shoulders, bolting after him, Harry and Hermione hot on my heels. I could hear Ron just ahead of me shouting at Crookshanks.

"Get away from him - get away - Scabbers, come _here_ -" There was a loud thud, and I caught up just in time to see Ron dive for his pet under a great tree, Crookshanks leaping on top of Ron. "_Gotcha!_ Get off, you stinking cat!" I skidded to a stop, almost bumping into Ron. He was now sprawled on the ground, shoving Scabbers back into his pocket, both hands held tight over the quivering lump.

Harry and Hermione stopped just behind me. "Ron - come on - back under the cloak -" Hermione panted. "Dumbledore - the Minister - they'll be coming back out in a minute -"

But before we could recover ourselves again, before we could even catch our breath, I heard the soft pounding of gigantic paws. It was loud enough that the others could hear too. Something was bounding towards us, as quiet as a shadow - an enormous, pale-eyed, jet-black dog. I recognized it as the one from Halloween.

I saw Harry reach for his wand, but too late - the dog had made an enormous leap and the front paws hit him on the chest. My brother was knocked over backwards in a whirl of hair. But the force of it's leap had carried it too far; it rolled off him. Dazed, Harry tried to stand, but the dog was already skidding around for another attack. I morphed and reached for my wand.

Ron was on his feet. As the dog sprang back towards us, he pushed me and Harry aside; the dog's jaws instead fastened around Ron's outstretched arm. Harry and I both lunged forward, and I got a fistful of the brute's fur, but it was dragging Ron away as easily as though he were a rag doll-

Then out of nowhere, Harry was thrown into my side, falling on top of me. I heard Hermione shriek with pain and fall too.

I groped for my wand. _"Lumos!"_ I gasped.

The wand light showed me the trunk of a thick tree; we had chased Scabbers into the shadow of a huge willow tree and it's branches were creaking as though in a high wind, whipping backward and forward to stop us going nearer. Harry had told me of this tree. The Whomping Willow.

And there, at the bast of it's trunk, was the dog, dragging Ron backwards into a large gap in the roots - Ron fighting furiously, but his head and torso were slipping out of sight -

"Ron!" Harry shouted, trying to follow, but a heavy branch whipped lethally through the air and he was forced backward again. I scrambled to my feet.

All we could see now was one of Ron's legs, which he had hooked around a root in an effort to stop the dog from pulling him further underground - but a horrible crack cut the air like a gunshot; Ron's leg had broken, and a moment later, his foot vanished from sight.

"Harry - we've got to go for help -" Hermione gasped; she was bleeding, as was Harry.

"No! That thing's big enough to eat him; we haven't got time -"

"Harry - we're never going to get through without help -" Another branch whipped down at us, twigs clenched like knuckles.

"If that dog can get in, we can." I said. Harry was darting here and there, trying to find a way through the vicious swishing branches, but he couldn't get an inch nearer to the tree roots without being in range of the tree's blows. I stood back and wracked my mind for a spell that might help.

"Oh, help, help," Hermione whispered frantically, dancing uncertainly on the spot. "Please..."

Crookshanks darted forward, he slithered between the battering branches like a snake and placed his paws upon a knot on the trunk. Abruptly, as though the tree had turned to marble, it stopped moving. Not a leaf twitched or shook.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione whispered uncertainly. She now grasped my arm painfully hard. I could see her doing the same to Harry. "How did he know -?"

"He's friends with that dog." said Harry grimly. "I've seen them together. Come on - and keep your wand out -" I didn't need telling twice, my hand was tight around my wand, my knuckles were turning white.

We covered the distance to the trunk in seconds, but before we had reached the gap in the roots, Crookshanks had slid into it with a flick of his bottlebrush tail. Harry went next, he crawled forward, headfirst, and slid from sight. Next was myself, not wanting to crawl, I morphed long enough to slip through, going down an earthy slope to the bottom of a very low tunnel. Crookshanks was a little way along, his eyes glinting off the light from our wands. Seconds later, Hermione slithered down beside us.

"Where's Ron?" she whispered in a terrified voice

"This way," said Harry, setting off, bent-backed, after Crookshanks. Not wanting to hunch my way along, I morphed again.

"Where dose this tunnel come out?" Hermione asked breathlessly behind us.

"I don't know... It's marked on the Marauder's Map, but Fred and George said no one's ever gotten into it... It goes off the edge of the map, but it looked like it was heading to Hogsmeade..."

We moved almost as fast as we could, the other two were bent almost double. Ahead of us, Crookshanks's tail bobbed in and out of view, I couldn't smell him very well, the scent of dog was overpowering, but underneath it, I could catch the faint very stale smells of rat, and deer, and very oddly, Lupin, his scent more feral than I'd ever smelt before. I stopped to smell the ground. I didn't understand. What would an odd smelling deer, rat, dog, and _Lupin,_ have in common? The smells were old. Older even than the scent that had lingered on my mother's jewelry box. The fact that they were still here...this had been a well used tunnel at some point.

"Lyra, come on." Hermione urged, trying to get me to keep moving.

The tunnel was beginning to rise; moments later it twisted, and Crookshanks had gone. Instead we could see a patch of dim light through a small opening.

Harry and hermione paused, catching their breath, and I morphed back, keeping my wand raised to see what lay beyond, and pulled myself from the hole.

It was a room, a very disoriented, dusty room. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture was broken as though someone had smashed it. The windows were all boarded up. The room itself was deserted, but a door to our right stood open, leading to a shadowy hallway.

"Guys," Hermione whispered. I looked back to see her wide, frightened eyes traveling around the boarded windows. "I think we're in the Shrieking Shack."

Harry looked around, he and I both looked at a wooden chair us. Large chunks had been torn out of it; one of the legs had been ripped off entirely. "Ghosts didn't do that." he said slowly. _But neither did that dog._ I silently responded. The thing was coated in years of dust.

At that moment, there was a creak overhead. Something had moved upstairs. All of us looked up at the ceiling. Hermione was gripping my brother's hand, I offhandedly wondered if she would break it. Harry raised his eye brows at her; she nodded again and let go.

* * *

><p>Quietly as we could, we crept out into the hall and up the crumbling staircase. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust except the floor, where a shiny stripe had been made by something being dragged upstairs.<p>

We reached the dark landing.

_"Nox."_ My sister and I whispered, and the lights at the end of our wands went out. Only one door was open. As we crept towards it, we heard movement behind it; a low moan, and then a deep, loud purring. The three of us exchanged one last look, a last nod.

Wand held tightly in front of me, I kicked the door wide open.

On a magnificent four-poster bed with dusty hangings lay Crookshanks, purring loudly at the sight of us. On the floor beside him, clutching his leg, which stuck out at a strange angle, was Ron.

We ran across to him. Lyra was the first to reach him, sliding to a stop on her knees, hand immediately reaching for his broken leg, muttering spells.

"Ron - are you okay?"

"Where's the dog?"

"Not a dog," Ron moaned as Lyra moved his leg from its unnatural angle, setting it. His teeth were gritted against the pain. "Guys, it's a trap -"

"What -"

_"He's the dog... he's an Animagus..."_

Ron was staring over my shoulder, Lyra and I wheeled around. With a snap the man in the shadows closed the door behind us.

A mass of filthy, matted hair hung to his elbows. If eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, I might have thought it was a corpse. The waxy skin of his face was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. His yellowed teeth were bared in a grin. It was Sirius Black.

_"Expelliarmus!"_ he croaked, pointing Ron's wand at us.

I felt my wand being ripped from my hand, flying through the air along with Hermione and Lyra's, and Black caught them. Then he took a step closer, his eyes fixed on my sister and I.

"I thought you'd come and help your friend." he said hoarsely. His voice sounded as though he'd long since lost the habit of using it. "Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you two, not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful...it will make everything much easier..."

The taunt about our father rang in my ears as though Black had bellowed it. A boiling hate erupted in my chest, leaving no room for fear. For the first time in my life, I wanted my wand back in my hand, not to defend myself, but to attack...to kill. Before I fully registered what I was doing, I started forward, but there was a sudden movement on either side of me and two pairs of hands grabbed me and held me back. "No, Harry!" Hermione gasped in a petrified whisper; Ron, however, spoke to Black.

"If you want to kill Harry and Lyra, you'll have to kill us too!" He said fiercely, though the effort of standing upright was draining him of still more color, and he swayed slightly as he spoke. At the sound of her name, it occurred to me that Lyra had not lunged for Black as well.

I looked at her, frightened by what I saw. She was still half-knelt on the ground, though turned to face Black. She was still as tense as a loaded spring, and she was shaking violently. Her eyes, usually as green as mine, were dark, almost black, with rage and hate. Her jaw was clenched, and her knuckles were white like bone, her hands were so tight. Her breathing was even, though her mouth was twisted in an angry, hateful expression. I momentarily wondered if I looked anything like that.

I looked back at Black in time to see something flicker in his shadowed eyes.

"Lie down," he said quietly to Ron. "You will damage that leg even more."

"Did you hear me?" Ron said weakly, though he was clinging painfully to me to keep upright. "You'll have to kill all four of us!"

"There will be only one murder tonight." said Black, and his grin widened.

"Why's that?" Lyra spat suddenly. I barely recognized it as my sister speaking. Her voice was gruff, and dark with unspoken anger. She still didn't move. "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those muggles to get at Pettigrew... What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?"

"Lyra!" Hermione whimpered. "Be quiet!"

"HE KILLED MY MUM AND DAD!" She roared, and then she was standing, lunging forward. At the exact same instant, an old clay flowerpot on the window sill exploded.

* * *

><p>I forgot about magic, forgot that I was short and skinny and thirteen and a girl, whereas Black was a tall, full-grown man. All I knew was the rolling anger inside me. And that I wanted to hurt Black as badly as I could, not caring how hurt I was in turn.<p>

Perhaps it was the shock of me doing something so stupid, but Black didn't raise the wands in time - one of my hands fastened over his wasted wrists, forcing the wand tips away, the knuckles of my other hand collided with the side of Black's head and we fell, backward, into the wall -

Hermione was screaming, Ron was yelling, and I could hear Harry struggling. There was a blinding flash as the wands in Black's hand sent a jet of sparks that missed my face by inches; I felt the shrunken arm under my fingers twisting madly, but I clung on, my other hand punching every part of Black that I could find. I may be a girl, but years of dancing had hardened my muscles past that of a normal thirteen year old girl. I was fully aware that it hurt.

But my own strength aside, Black was still older, stronger; his other hand found my throat.

"No," he hissed, "I've waited too long -"

The fingers tightened, and I choked, angry tears streaming from the corners of my eyes.

Then I saw Hermione's foot swing out of nowhere. Black let go of me with a grunt of pain; Ron had thrown himself on Black's wand hand and I heard a faint clatter. Harry took my place pummeling Black.

I fought free of the tangle of bodies and saw my own wand rolling across the floor; I threw myself toward it but -

"Argh!"

Crookshanks had joined the fray; both sets of front claws had sunk themselves deep into my arm. I threw him off, but he darted toward my wand.

"NO YOU DONT!" I roared, aiming a kick at Crookshanks that made the cat leap aside, spitting; I snatched my wand up and turned.

"Get out of the way!" I shouted to the others.

They didn't need telling twice. Even Harry moved away from him, but not without giving Black a look of the deepest loathing. Hermione's lip was bleeding, and she picked up the wands, tossing Harry's to him. Ron crawled to the four-poster and collapsed onto it, panting, his white face now tinged with green, both hands clutching his broken leg.

Black was sprawled at the bottom of the wall. His thin chest rose and fell rapidly as he watched me walking slowly nearer, my wand trained on his heart.

"Are you going to kill me, Lyra?" he whispered.

I stopped right above him, my wand still pointing at Black's chest, looking down at him. A livid bruise was rising around Black's left eye and his nose was bleeding.

"You killed my parents," I said, my voice shaking slightly. "And then you had the nerve to sit with me and listen to me cry over the memory. Oh yes, I recognized you as the same dog." I said when surprise lit up his face. "Your animagus form is pretty fucking distinctive." I spat.

Black stared up at me from those sunken eyes. "I don't deny it," he said very quietly. "But if you knew the whole story."

"The whole story?" I repeated, a furious pounding in my ears. "You sold them to Voldemort. That's all I need to know."

"You've got to listen to me." Black said, and there was a note of urgency in his voice now. "You'll regret it if you don't... You don't understand..."

"We understand a lot better than you think," said Harry, walking forward, his voice cold. "You never heard her did you? Our mum... trying to stop Voldemort killing us... and you did that... you did it..."

Before any of us could say another word something ginger streaked past me; Crookshanks leapt onto Black's chest and settled himself there, right over Black's heart. Black blinked and looked down at the cat.

"Get off," he murmured, trying to push Crookshanks off him. But Crookshanks sank his claws into Black's robes and wouldn't shift. He turned his ugly squashed face to Harry and I and looked up at us with those great yellow eyes. To my right, Hermione gave a dry sob. I stared down at Black and Crookshanks. So what if I had to kill the cat too? A memory or Nath flickered through my head, he liked the older cat a lot. But it was in league with Black... If it was prepared to die, trying to protect Black, that wasn't my business... If Black wanted to save it, that only proved he cared more for Crookshanks than for my parents...

I raised my wand. Now was the moment to do it. Now was the moment to avenge my mother and father. Harry and I were going to kill Black. We had to kill Black. This was our chance.

The seconds lengthened. But still I stood frozen there, wand poised, Black staring up at me, Crookshanks on his chest. Ron's ragged breathing came from near the bed, Harry's own shaky breaths just behind me; Hermione was quite silent.

And then came a new sound -

Muffled footsteps were echoing through the floor, someone was moving downstairs.

"WE'RE UP HERE!" Hermione screamed suddenly. "WE'RE UP HERE - SIRIUS BLACK - _QUICK_!"

Black made a startled movement that almost dislodged Crookshanks; I griped my wand convulsively -_Do it now! _said a voice in my head - but the footsteps were thundering up the stairs and I still hadn't done it.

The door of the room opened in a shower of red sparks but I didn't look even when Harry wheeled around. I heard Professor Lupin shout a disarming spell, and my wand flew out of my hand once more. I heard footsteps as he entered, but I still didn't look away from Black's face. He was glancing nervously from Lupin and back to me. I felt the anger melt from my face, and I stared at him with a desolate expression.

I suddenly felt empty. I hadn't been able to kill him. He was going to be handed back to the dementors. My nerve had failed. I was a coward.

Then Lupin spoke in a very tense voice.

"Where is he, Sirius?"

Shocked and confused, I turned around to stare at our teacher. Who was Lupin talking about? What was going on? I looked back at Black.

Black's face was expressionless. For a few seconds, he didn't move at all. Then, very slowly, he raised his empty hand and pointed straight at Ron. Mystified, I glanced around at Ron, who looked bewildered.

"But then..." Lupin muttered, staring at Black so intently it seemed like he was trying to read his mind. "... why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless-" Lupin's eyes suddenly widened, as though he was seeing something beyond Black, something none of us could see. "-Unless _he_ was the one...unless you switched...without telling me?"

Very slowly, his sunken gaze never leaving Lupins face, Black nodded.

"Professor," Harry interrupted loudly. "what's going on-?"

But he never finished the question, because what we witnessed next made his voice seem to die in his throat. Lupin was lowering his wand, gazing fixedly at Black. I had to step back as the Professor walked to Black's side, seized his hand, pulled him to his feet so that Crookshanks fell to the floor, and embraced him like a brother.

* * *

><p>I felt as though the bottom had dropped out of my stomach.<p>

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione screamed.

Lupin let go of Black and turned to her. She had raised herself off the floor and was pointing at Lupin, wide-eyed. "You-you-"

"Hermione-"

"-you and him!"

"Hermione, calm down-"

"I didn't tell anyone!" Hermione shrieked. "I've been covering for you-"

"Hermione, listen to me, please!" Lupin shouted. "I can explain-"

I could feel myself shaking, not with fear, but with a fresh wave of fury. I heard the sound of teeth grinding together, and I looked behind me to see Lyra looking like she was ready to explode. A large crack appeared in the wall behind her. I remembered the flower pot shattering when she attacked Black. I looked back at Lupin, my anger boiling over.

"I trusted you." I shouted at him, my voice wavering out of control. "and all the time you've been his friend!"

"You're wrong," said Lupin. "I haven't been Sirius's friend, but I am now - let me explain..."

"NO!" Hermione screamed. "Harry, don't trust him he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you and Lyra dead too - _he's a werewolf_!"

There was a ringing silence. Everyone's eyes were now on Lupin, who looked remarkably calm, though rather pale.

"Of course." Lyra said softly. I turned to see her looking at Hermione with no surprise at all. "Took you long enough Hermione. I could smell the wolf on him the first time I ever morphed in front of him. Even without an animal's senses I'm surprised it took you so long. Of course, that doesn't explain why his scent was in the..." Suddenly her eyes widened and she looked at Black. "But the scent of dog was..." she went pale. "There are more animagi, aren't there? Who're the rat and the deer?" she demanded, taking a step forward to stand beside me.

The two men stared at her as though she'd grown a second head that could breath fire. An odd look came over Black's face. "You could smell deer?" He and Lupin shared a look. "Even after all these years?"

Lyra raised her head defiantly, glaring at him. "I have a sharp nose. The scent of rat might have just been Scabbers, but Lupin's old scent and that of the deer were still there when we went through the tunnel. That tunnel was very well used at some point. Who is the deer?" she demanded again

"He was a stag." Black corrected after a minute.

There was silence before Lupin spoke, though he was ignoring Lyra's question, addressing Hermione instead. "Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione." he said. "Only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius into the castle and I certainly don't want Harry and Lyra dead..." An odd shiver passed over his face. "But I wont deny that I am a werewolf"

Ron made a valiant effort to get up again, but fell back with a whimper of pain. Lupin made toward him, looking concerned, but Ron gasped, _"Get away from me, werewolf!"_

I barely heard the gasp that escaped my sister. I glanced to the side, slightly shocked to see that her anger was momentarily gone, replaced with a look of extreme pity. I was about to say something to her, but was interrupted by Lupin speaking again to Hermione. "How long have you known?" I turned to see that he had retreated slightly from Ron, and was looking at Hermione.

"Ages," Hermione whispered. "Since I did professor Snape's essay..."

"He'll be delighted." Lupin said coolly. "He assigned that essay hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant... Did you check the lunar chart and realize I was always sick at the full moon? Or did you realize that the boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?"

"Both." Hermione said quietly.

Lupin forced a laugh. "You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione."

"I'm not," Hermione whispered. "If I'd been cleverer, I'd have told everyone what you are!"

"But they already know," said Lupin. "At least, the staff do."

"Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf?" Ron gasped. "Is he mad?"

"Ron!" Lyra snapped. Everyone looked at her with surprised. The look on her face was torn. Equal parts fury at Black and Lupin, and pity. "Granted Lupin isn't trustworthy, being a werewolf isn't necessarily his fault. Quit treating him like it is! It's not like with an animagus. He has no choice in the matter."

An amazed look crossed Lupin's face. "Lyra..."

"Don't." she spat at him. "Did you not hear me? I said your not trustworthy, its just not because of what you are."

Lupin sobered. "I have _not_ been helping Sirius," He said after a minute. "If you'll give me a chance, I'll explain. Look-" He separated all of our wands and threw them back to us. I caught mine, slightly stunned. "There," said Lupin, sticking his own wand back into his belt. "You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?" Black suddenly crossed to the four-poster bed and sank into it, his face hidden in one shaking hand. Crookshanks leapt up beside him and stepped into his lap, purring. Ron edged away from both of them, dragging his leg and pointing his wand defensively.

Lyra, whom was now leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, spoke to Lupin. "If you haven't been helping him," she said, with a furious glance at Black, "How did you know he was here?"

"The map." said Lupin. "The Marauder's Map. I was in my office examining it -"

"You know how to work it?" I said suspiciously.

"How did he get it anyways Harry?" Lyra said, glaring at me, though not as darkly as she had been the others.

"Snape confiscated it." I said guiltily, I looked at Lupin for an explanation. (Ignoring her muttered comment of 'idiot')

"Of course I know how to work it," said Lupin waving his had impatiently. "I helped write it. I'm Moony - that was my friends' nickname for me at school."

"You _wrote_-?"

"The important thing is, I was watching it carefully this evening, because I had an idea that you, Ron, and hermione might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his hippogriff was executed. And I was right wasn't I? Though I was pleasantly surprised to see that Lyra was with you, considering her behavior as of late." I gave Lyra a pointed look, which she pointedly ignored.

He had started to pace up and down, looking at us. Little patches of dust rose at his feet.

"You might have been under your father's old cloak -"

"How d'you know about the cloak?" I asked.

"The number of times I saw James disappearing under it..." said Lupin, waving an impatient hand again. "The point is, even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak, you still show up on the Marauder's Map. I watched you cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's hut. Twenty minutes later, you left Hagrid's, and set off back towards the castle. But you were now accompanied by somebody else."

"What?" I said. "No we weren't!" I glanced at Lyra, her eyes were narrowed, and her mouth was set in a frustrated frown.

"I couldn't believe my eyes," said Lupin, still pacing, and ignoring my interruption. "I thought the map must be malfunctioning. How could he be with you?"

"No one was with us!" I said.

"And then I saw another dot, moving fast toward you, labeled _Sirius Black_... I saw him collide with you; I watched as he pulled two of you into the Whomping Willow-"

"One of us!" Ron said angrily.

"No, Ron," said Lupin. "Two of you." He had stopped pacing, his eyes moving over Ron. "Do you think I could have a look at that rat?" he said evenly.

"What?" Ron said. "What's Scabbers got to do with it?"

"Everything." said Lupin. "Could I see him please?"

Ron hesitated, then put a hand inside his robes. Scabbers emerged, thrashing desperately; Ron had to seize his long, bald tail to stop him escaping. Crookshanks stood up on Black's leg and made a soft hissing noise. Lupin moved closer to Ron. He seemed to be holding his breath as he gazed intently at Scabbers.

"What?" Ron said again, holding Scabbers to him, looking scared. "What's my rat got to do with anything?"

"That's not a rat."Croaked Sirius Black suddenly.

"What d'you mean - of course he's a rat -"

"No, he's not." said Lupin quietly. "He's a wizard."

"An Animagus," said Black, "by the name of Peter Pettigrew."

It took a few seconds for the absurdity of this statement to sink in. Then Ron voiced what I'd been thinking.

"You're both mental."

"Ridiculous!" Hermione said faintly.

"Peter Pettigrew's _dead_!" Lyra erupted quite suddenly. "_He_ killed him twelve years ago!" she pointed at Black, whose face twitched convulsively.

"I meant to." he growled, his yellow teeth bared. "But little Peter got the better of me... not this time though!" And Crookshanks was thrown to the floor as black lunged at Scabbers; Ron yelled out in pain as Black's weight well on his broken leg.

"Sirius, NO!" Lupin yelled, launching himself forwards and dragging Black away from Ron again. "WAIT! You can't do it just like that - they need to understand - we've got to explain -"

"We can explain afterwards!" snarled Black, sounding animalistic, and baring his teeth slightly as he did so. I noticed that Lyra did the same thing when she was angry at someone. Idly I wondered if the trait came from having a canine (canine related, in my sister's case) transformation. Black tried to throw Lupin off. One hand still clawing the air as it tried to reach Scabbers, who was squealing like a piglet, scratching Ron's face and neck as he tried to escape.

"They've-got-a-right-to-know-everything!" Lupin panted, still trying to restrain Black. "Ron's kept him as a pet! There are parts of it even I don't understand! And the Twins - you owe Harry and Lyra the truth, Sirius!"

Black stopped struggling, though his hollowed eyes were still fixed on Scabbers, who was clamped tightly under Ron's bitten, scratched, and bleeding hands.

"All right, then." Black said without taking his eyes off the rat. "Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick Remus. I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for..."

"You're nutters, both of you." Ron said shakily, looking round at us for support. "I've had enough of this. I'm off." He tried to heave himself up on his good leg, but Lupin raised his wand again, pointing it at Scabbers.

"You're going to hear me out, Ron." he said quietly. "Just keep a tight hold of Peter while you listen."

"HE'S NOT PETER, HE'S SCABBERS!" Ron yelled, trying to force the rat back into his front pocket, but Scabbers was fighting too hard; Ron swayed and overbalanced. I caught him and pushed him back down to the bed. Then, ignoring Black, I turned to Lupin.

"There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die." I said, glancing at Lyra for backup. But she was oddly quiet, watching all of the goings-on warily. "A whole street full of them..."

"They didn't see what they thought they saw!" said Black savagely, still watching Scabbers struggling in Ron's hands.

Lyra snorted. "Well, that's a winning argument if I've ever heard one!" she said sarcastically, her tone making everyone wince. "Guess that just clears everything up right there!"

"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter," said Lupin, nodding. "I believed it myself - until I saw Peter on the map. Because the Marauder's Map never lies... Peter's alive. Ron's holding him."

I looked down at Ron, and when our eyes met, we agreed, silently: Black and Lupin were both out of their minds. Their story made no sense whatsoever. How could Scabbers be Peter Pettigrew? Azkaban must have unhinged Black after all - but why was Lupin playing along with him?

Hermione spoke in a trembling, would-be calm sort of voice, as though trying to will Professor Lupin to talk sensibly. "But Professor Lupin...Scabbers can't be Pettigrew...it just can't be true, you know it can't..."

"Why can't it be true?" Lupin said calmly, as though they were in class, and Hermione had simply spotted a problem in an experiment with grindylows.

"Because...because people would _know_ if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my homework - the Ministry of Magic keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register showing what animal they become, and their marking and things... and I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have only been eight Animagi this century, allowing for Lyra's anomaly of being born as one." I threw a glance at my sister, and from the look on her face, she did not appreciate being _researched_. "-And Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list-"

I barely had time to marvel inwardly at the effort Hermione put into her homework, when Lupin started to laugh. "Right again, Hermione!" he said. "But the Ministry never knew that there used to be three unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts."

"If you're going to tell them the story, get a move on, Remus." snarled Black, who was still watching Scabbers's every desperate move. "I've waited twelve years, I'm not going to wait much longer."

"All right... but you'll need to help me Sirius." said Lupin. "I only know how it began..." Lupin broke off. There had been a loud creak behind him. The bedroom door had opened of it's own accord. All six of us stared at it. Then Lupin strode toward it and looked out into the landing. "No one there..."

"This place is haunted!" said Ron.

"It's not." said Lupin, still looking at the door in a puzzled way. "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted...The screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by me." He pushed his greying hair out of his eyes, thought for a minute, then said, "That's where all of this starts - with my becoming a werewolf. None of this could have happened if I hadn't been bitten... and if I hadn't been so foolhardy..."

He looked sober and tired. Ron started to interrupt, but Hermione said, "Shh!" She was watching Lupin very intently. I looked at Lyra, and she was much the same, her face held a guarded curiosity, though still shadowed by anger and mistrust.

"I was a very small boy when I received the bite. My parents tried everything, but in those days there was no cure. The potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent discovery. It makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform...I am able to curl up in my office, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again.

"Before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered, however, I became a fully fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible that I would be able to come to Hogwarts. Other parents weren't likely to want their children to be exposed to me. But then Dumbledore became headmaster, and he was sympathetic. He said that as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I shouldn't come to school..." Lupin sighed and looked right at me. "I told you, months ago, Harry, that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. The truth is, it was planted _because_ I came to Hogwarts. This house" - Lupin looked miserably around the room, "the tunnel that leads to it - they were built for my use. Once a month, I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. The tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me when i was dangerous."

I couldn't see where this story was going, but I found myself listening raptly all the same. The only sound apart form Lupin's voice was Scabbers's frightened squeaking.

"My transformations in those days were-were terrible. It is very painful to turn into a werewolf. I was separated from humans to bite, so I scratched and bit myself instead. The villagers heard the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumor...Even when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it...

"But apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. For the first time ever, I had friends, three great friends. Sirius Black...Peter Pettigrew...and, of course, your father, Lyra, Harry, - James Potter.

"Now, my three friends could hardly fail to notice that I disappeared once a month. I made up all sorts of stories. I told them my mother was ill, and that I had to go home to see her... I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But of course, they, like you Hermione, worked out the truth...

"And they didn't desert me at all. Instead, they did something for me that made my transformations not only bearable, but the best times of my life. They became Animagi."

"My dad too?" I asked, astounded.

"Yes, indeed." said Lupin.

"The stag..." Lyra said, drawing every one's gaze. She wore a thoughtful expression. "The scent of deer in the tunnel, that's him isn't it?" Lupin nodded, giving her a sad smile. Something flickered through her eyes. "Do you think that's why I was born an Animagus? Because Dad was one?"

"That's what James and I always assumed." Black said, his expression softer than before. Lyra's face twitched into a grimace at being addressed by him, though she said nothing as she motioned for Lupin to continue.

He nodded. "It took them the best part of three years to work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius here were the cleverest students in the school, and lucky they were, because the Animagus transformations can go horribly wrong - one reason the Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it. Peter needed all the help he could get from James and Sirius. Finally, in our fifth year, they managed it. They could each turn into a different animal at will."

"But how did that help you?" said Hermione, sounding puzzled.

"They couldn't keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as animals." said Lupin. "Werewolves are only a danger to people. They sneaked out of the castle every month under James's Invisibility Cloak. They transformed... Peter, as the smallest, could slip beneath the Willow's attacking branches and touch the knot that freezes it. They would then slip down the tunnel and join me. Under their influence, I became less dangerous. My body was still wolfish, but my mind seemed to become less so while I was with them."

"Hurry up, Remus." snarled Black, who was still watching Scabbers with a horrible sort of hunger on his face.

"Aww, what's the matter Black? Not enjoying story time?" Lyra sneered at him. Never before had she sounded so much like Malfoy. Black shot her a glare, which only served to give her satisfaction.

Lupin ignored her. "I'm getting there Sirius, I'm getting there... well, highly exciting possibilities were open to us now that we could all transform. Soon we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds and village by night. Sirius and James transformed into such large animals, they were able to keep a werewolf in check. I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did...And that's how we came to write the Marauder's Map, and sign it with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. James was Prongs."

Lyra and I shared a smirk. _Antlers_. She mouthed to me, and I nodded, stifling a chuckle as Hermione spoke. "That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?"

"A thought that still haunts me," said Lupin heavily. "And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young and thoughtless - carried away with our own cleverness.

"I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust, of course...he had admitted me to Hogwarts when no other Headmaster would have done so, and he had no idea I was breaking the rules he had set down for my own and others' safety. He never knew I had led three fellow students into becoming Animagi illegally. But I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month's adventure. And I haven't changed..."

Lupin's face hardened, and there was self-disgust in his voice. "All this year, I have been battling with myself, wondering whether I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus. But I didn't do it. Why? Because I was too cowardly. It would have meant admitting that I'd led others along with me...and Dumbledore's trust has meant everything to me. He let me into Hogwarts as a boy, and he gave me a job when I have been shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am. And so I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using the dark arts he learned from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had nothing to do wit it...so in a way, Snape's been right about me all along."

"Snape?" said Black harshly, taking his eyes of Scabbers for the first time in minutes and looking up at Lupin. "What's Snape got to do with it?"

"He's here, Sirius," said Lupin heavily. "He's teaching here as well." He looked up at the four of us. "Professor Snape was at school with us. He fought very hard against my appointment to the Defense Against the Dark Arts job."

"Pardon me if it seems rude, but am I the only one who sees the irony in the fact that a werewolf has been teaching that class?" Lyra said dryly, raising an eyebrow.

This made Lupin's mouth quirk up into a brief smile, but he still ignored her and continued to speak. "He's been telling Dumbledore all year that I am not to be trusted. He has his reasons... you see, Sirius here trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me -"

Black made a derisive noise. "It served him right," he sneered. "Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to...hoping he could get us expelled..."

"Severus was very interested in where I went every month." Lupin told us. "We were in the same year, you know, and we - er - didn't like each other very much. He especially disliked James. Jealous, I think, of James's talent on the Quidditch field... Anyway, Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madame Pomfrey one evening as she led me toward the Whomping Willow to transform. Sirius thought it would be - er - amusing, to tell Snape that all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick, and he'd be able to get in after me. Well, of course, Snape tried it - if he'd got as far as this house, he'd have met a fully grown werewolf - but your father, who'd heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape and pulled him back, at great risk to his life... Snape glimpsed me, though, at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anybody, but from that time on he knew what I was..."

"So that's why Professor Snape doesn't like you." Lyra said matter-of-factly. "Because He thought you were in on the 'joke'."

"That's right." sneered a cold voice from the wall behind Lupin. Severus Snape was pulling off the Invisibility Cloak, his wand pointing directly at Lupin.

Hermione screamed. Black jumped to his feet. Lyra tensed, and her eyes widened in pure shock, but did not move otherwise. I felt as though I'd received a huge electric shock.

"Found this at the base of the Whomping Willow." said Snape, throwing the cloak aside, careful to keep his wand pointing directly at Lupin's chest. "Very useful, Potter, I thank you..."

"To which one of us are you speaking?" Lyra said irritably.

"Is this really the time for that Lyra?" I asked in exasperation.

Snape was slightly breathless, but his face was full of suppressed triumph. "You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" he said, his eyes glittering. "I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a gobletful along. And very lucky I did...lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight."

"Severus-" Lupin began, but Snape overrode him.

"I've told the headmaster again and again that you're helping your old friend Black into the castle, Lupin, and here's the proof. Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this old place as your hideout -"

"Severus, you're making a big mistake," said Lupin urgently. "You haven't heard everything - I can explain - Sirius is not here to kill the Potter Twins -"

"Two more for Azkaban tonight," said Snape, his eyes now gleaming frantically. "I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this...He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know... a _tame_ werewolf..."

"You fool," said Lupin softly. "Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?

BANG! Thin, snakelike cords burst from the end of Snape's wand and twisted themselves around Lupin's mouth, wrists, and ankles; he overbalanced and fell to the floor, unable to move. With a roar of rage, Black started towards Snape, But Snape pointed his wand straight between Black's eyes. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a brief flash of bleak eagerness appear on my sister's face.

"Give me a reason." he whispered. "Give me a reason to do it, and i swear I will."

Black stopped dead. It would have been impossible to say which face showed more hatred.

I stood there, paralyzed, not knowing what to do and whom to believe. I glanced around at Ron, Hermione, and Lyra. Ron looked as confused as I was, still fighting to keep hold on the struggling Scabbers. Lyra looked impassive. Hermione, however, took an uncertain step toward Snape and said, in a very breathless voice, "Professor Snape - it-it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, w-would it?"

"Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this school," Snape spat. "You Weasley, and the Potters are out-of-bounds, in the company of a convicted murderer and a werewolf. For once in your life, _hold your tongue._"

"But if-if there was a mistake-"

"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape shouted, looking suddenly quite deranged. "DON'T TALK ABOUT THINGS YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" A few sparks shot out the end of his wand, which was still pointed at Black's face. Hermione fell silent. "Vengeance is sweet." Snape breathed at Black "How I hoped I would be the one to catch you..."

"The joke's on you again, Severus." Black snarled. "As long as that boy brings his rat up to the castle" - he jerked his head at Ron - "I'll come quietly..."

"Up to the castle?" said Snape silkily. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the dementors once we get out of the Willow. hey'll be very pleased to see you, Black...pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay..."

What little color there was in Black's face left it.

"You-you've got to hear me out," he croaked. "The rat- look at the rat-"

There was a mad glint in Snape's eyes that I'd never seen before. He seemed beyond reason. "Come on all of you." He said. He clicked his fingers, and the ends of the cords that bound Lupin flew to his hands. "I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the dementors will have a kiss for him too -"

Before I knew what I was doing, I had crossed the room, Lyra with me, and blocked the door. We stood shoulder to shoulder, she still with her arms crossed and an unreadable expression.

"Get out of the way, you two, you're in enough trouble already," snarled Snape. "If I hadn't been here to save your skin -"

"Professor Lupin could have killed us about a hundred times this year." Lyra said evenly, throwing Lupin a glance. "We've been alone with him loads of times, having defense lessons against the dementors. If he was helping Black, why didn't he just finish us off then?"

"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works!" hissed Snape. "Get out of the way, Potter."

I felt my frustration boil up again. "YOU'RE PATHETIC!" I yelled. "JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OF YOU AT SCHOOL YOU WONT EVEN LISTEN -"

"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Snape shrieked, looking madder than ever. "Like father, like son, Potter! I have just saved your neck; you should be thanking me on bended knee! You would have been served right if he'd killed you! You'd have died like your father -"

_"Expelliarmus!"_ And Snape was lifted off his feet and slammed into the wall, then slid down the floor, a trickle of blood oozing from under his hair. He'd been knocked out. We all stared in shock at the caster of the spell. That was just a disarming charm, for it to have that much power behind it... But one look at my sister's face made my question answer itself. Black rage filled her features. "I said to _never_ speak of my father." she said darkly, not seeming to care that he was unconscious and unable to hear her. "He died a hero! I'll not have you trying to sully his name!" After a moment she seemed to remember herself, and schooled her features so that she again looked impassive, though her eyes were still dark with fury.

"You shouldn't have done that," said Black quietly, looking at my sister. "You should have left him to me..." She avoided his eyes, seeming unsure if she'd done the right thing.

She instead looked at Lupin, who was struggling against his bonds. _"Diffindo" _she said in a flat voice, pointing her want at the tendrils. The ones around his wrists were severed, and Lupin used his freed hands to untie the rest. He then straightened up, rubbing his arms where the ropes had cut him.

"Thank you Lyra." he said.

"I didn't do that for you. I'm still not saying I believe you. And if it turns out that you are lying, I want the pleasure of killing _him_ myself" she spat out the last bit with a particularly venomous glare at Black, at which he flinched.

"Then it's time we offered you some proof." said Lupin, as she walked back to where she'd been standing before, and leaning against the wall once more. "You, boy - give me Peter, please. Now."

Ron clutched Scabbers closer to his chest. "Come off it," he said weakly. "Are you trying to say-"

"Ron, damn it, just fucking give him the rat!" Lyra snapped waspishly.

After a moment, Ron spoke again. "What're you going to do to him if i give him to you?" he asked Lupin tensely.

"Force him to show himself," said Lupin "If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him." Ron hesitated. Then at long last, he held out Scabbers and lupin took him. Scabbers began to squeak without stopping, twisting and turning, his tiny black eyes bulging in his head. "Ready, Sirius?" said Lupin.

Black had already retrieved Snape's wand from where it'd fallen. He approached Lupin and the struggling rat, and his eyes suddenly seemed to be burning in his face. "Together?" he said quietly.

"I think so." said Lupin, holding Scabbers tightly in one hand and his wand in the other. "On the count of three. One-two-THREE!"

A flash of blue-white light erupted from both wands; for a moment Scabbers was frozen in midair, his small grey form twisting madly - Ron yelled - the rat fell and hit the floor. there was another blinding flash of light and then-

It was like watching a speeded-up film of a growing tree. A head was shooting upward from the ground, limbs were sprouting, a moment later, a man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his hands. Crookshanks was spitting and snarling, on the bed, the hair on his back was standing up.

He was a very short man, hardly taller than Lyra or I. His thin, colorless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who has lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers's fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes. He looked around at us all, his breathing fast and shallow. I saw his eyes dart to the door and back again.

"Well hello, Peter." said Lupin pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupted into old school friends around him. "Long time, no see."

"S-Sirius... R-Remus..." Even Pettigrew's voice was squeaky. Again, his eyes darted towards the door. "My friends...my old friends."

Black's wand arm rose, but Lupin seized him around the wrist, gave him a warning look then turned again to Pettigrew, his voice light and casual. "We've been having a little chat about old times, Peter. You might have missed the finer points while you squeaking around down there on the bed, but no mater. Now that you're officially here, I believe we should have a talk about the night Lilly and James died..."

"Remus," gasped Pettigrew, and I could see beads of sweat breaking out over his pasty face. "you don't believe him, do you...? He tried to kill me, Remus..."

"So we've heard." said Lupin, more coldly. "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'd be so -"

"He's come to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew squeaked suddenly, pointing at Black, and I saw that he'd used his middle finger, because his index was missing. "He killed Lilly and James and now he's going to kill me too... You've got to help me, Remus..."

Black's face looked more skull-like than ever as he stared at Pettigrew with his fathomless eyes.

"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted out a few things." said Lupin.

"Sorted things out?" squealed Pettigrew, looking wildly about him once more, eyes taking in the boarded up windows and, again, the only door. "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"

"You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban?" said Lupin, his brow furrowed. "When nobody has ever done it before?"

He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Pettigrew shouted shrilly. "How else did he get out of there? I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"

Black started to laugh, a horrible, mirthless laugh that filled the whole room. "Voldemort, teach me tricks?" he said. Pettigrew flinched as though Black had brandished a whip at him. "What, scared to hear your old master's name?" said Black. "I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"

"Don't know what you mean, Sirius -" muttered Pettigrew.

"You haven't been hiding from_ me_ for twelve years," said Black. "You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I heard them in Azkaban, Peter, they all think you're dead...or you'd have to answer to them. From what I heard, they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on _your_ information, and he met his downfall there. And not all his followers ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty of them out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways... if they got wind that you were still alive, Peter-"

"Don't know...what you're talking about..." said Pettigrew again, more shrilly than ever. He looked up at Lupin. "You don't believe this-this madness, Remus -"

"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat." said Lupin evenly.

"Innocent, but scared!" squeaked Pettigrew"If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was only because I put one of their best men in Azkaban - the spy, Sirius Black!"

Black's face contorted, but Lyra interrupted whatever he was about to say. "Lift up your shirt sleeves." Everyone stopped to look at her. She was watching Pettigrew with a chilling calm. "Voldemort's followers, Death Eaters they were formally called, had things called dark marks. I read about it back when I was researching the war. I'd wanted to know why my parents died. You say that Sirius Black was they spy, if it's the truth, then you'll have nothing on your arms. If not...well," she didn't finish her sentence, choosing only to narrow her eyes dangerously.

I looked at Black and Lupin. The former was looking at my sister as though she were an angel sent from above. The latter had a look of shocked amazement on his face.

"Dark mark? I don't have a dark mark! I wasn't a traitor, that was Sirius!" Pettigrew wailed. But Lupin waved his wand, and his sleeves rolled themselves up, as did Black's. And there on the inside of Pettigrew's left forearm, the faded tattoo of a black skull with a snake coming from it's mouth like a kind of gruesome tongue. Black's arms, while one or two small tattoos were there, none were even similar to the snake and skull. Black, Lupin, and my sister all sneered at the mark.

"It was a bluff, wasn't it?" Lyra said, looking at Black. "No one would think that our parents would use such a pathetic wizard as the secret keeper. Everyone thought it was you."

Black nodded, surprise and gratefulness lighting his face. "It was probably the finest moment of his life, telling Voldemort he could hand him your family." he said to her quietly, then he said something else. "I never betrayed James and Lilly. I would have died before I betrayed them. You have to believe me."

She hesitated, then nodded, tears of guilt gathering in the corners of her eyes. "I'm sorry, Sirius." she said quietly, staring at the ground. "I'm so sorry..." she sank to the floor, cradling her head in her hands. "I almost killed you." she admitted, though she seemed to be talking more to herself now. "I almost destroyed what little family Harry and I have left..." she buried her fingers in her hair, like she was about to tear it out. "Oh god, I'm so sorry..." she whispered, her voice cracking, quiet hiccuping sobs began bubbling out of her throat.

I crossed to where she was sitting, wrapping my arms around her shoulders. She morphed and curled up against my chest, shaking like a leaf. I looked up at Black, feeling guilt rise in my own chest. "I believe you, too." I said quietly. My throat was constricting as I stood, holding Lyra close.

Pettigrew had fallen to his knees as though our admissions had been a death sentence. He shuffled forward on his knees, groveling, his hands clasped in front of him as though praying. "Sirius- it's me... it's Peter...your friend...you wouldn't..."

Black kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled.

"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them, Death Eater scum." said Black.

"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Lupin instead, writhing imploringly in front of him. "You don't believe this...wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"

"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter." said Lupin. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually over Pettigrew's head.

"Forgive me, Remus." said Black.

"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend." said Lupin. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing _you_ were the spy?"

"Of course," said Black, and a ghost of a grin flitted across his gaunt face. "Shall we kill him together?"

"Yes, I think so." said Lupin grimly.

"You wouldn't...you won't..." gasped Pettigrew. And he scrambled around to Ron. "Ron...haven't I been a good friend...a good pet? You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you...you're on my side, aren't you?"

But Ron was staring at Pettigrew with the utmost revulsion.

"I let you sleep in my _bed_!" he said.

"Kind boy...kind master..." Pettigrew crawled toward Ron. "you wont let them do it...I was your rat...I was a good pet..."

"If you made a better rat than a human, it's not much to boast about, Peter." said Black harshly. Ron, going still paler with pain, wrenched his broken leg out of Pettigrew's reach. Pettigrew turned on his knees, staggered forwards, and seized the hem of Hermione's robes.

"Sweet girl...clever girl... you-you won't let them...Help me..."

Hermione pulled her robes out of Pettigrew's clutching hands and backed away against the wall, looking horrified.

Pettigrew knelt, trembling uncontrollably, and turned his head slowly toward me.

"Harry...Harry... You look just like your father...just like him..."

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?" roared Black. "HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?" Lyra stopped whimpering, though her shaking continued, and she lifted her head to watch Black

"Harry," whispered Pettigrew, shuffling towards me, hands outstretched. "Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed...James would have understood, Harry...he would have shown me mercy..."

Both Black and Lupin strode forward, seized Pettigrew's shoulders and threw him backward onto the floor. He sat there, twitching with terror, staring up at them.

"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort," said black, who was shaking too. "Do you deny it?"

Pettigrew burst into tears. It was horrible to watch, like an oversized, balding baby, cowering on the floor. "Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord...you have no idea...he has weapons you can't imagine...I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen...He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me -"

"DONT LIE!" bellowed Black. "YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY SND JSMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY! THAT _THING_ ON YOUR ARM IS PROOF!"

"He-he was taking over everywhere!" gasped Pettigrew. "Wh-what was there to be gained by refusing him?"

"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?" said Black, with a terrible fury in his face. "Only innocent lives, Peter!"

"You don't understand!" whined Pettigrew. "He would have killed me Sirius!"

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"

Black and Lupin stood shoulder to shoulder, wands raised.

"You should have realized," said Lupin quietly. "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter."

Hermione covered her face with her hands and turned to the wall. Lyra turned her head into my shoulder, paws over her snout.

"NO!" I yelled. I ran forwards, still keeping hold of Lyra, placing myself in front of Pettigrew, facing the wands. "You cant kill him." I said breathlessly. "You can't."

Black and Lupin both looked staggered. "Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you and your sister have no parents." Black snarled. "This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your entire family!"

Lyra was suddenly leaping to the floor and morphing to stand next to me. She threw me a glance that told me she understood what I was doing. She looked at Black with a despondent sort of smile. "Dead, the truth lies with him." she said, her voice sounding strained. "Alive, you're free, Sirius." she cleared her throat. "We'll take him to the castle, hand him over to the dementors...He can go to Azkaban...We just cant kill him."

"Lyra!" gasped Pettigrew, and he flung his arms around her kneed. "You - thank you - it's more than I deserve - thank you -"

"Get off me!" she spat, sounding much like a growling animal, throwing Pettigrew's hands off her in disgust. "If Sirius's freedom didn't depend on your life, I'd kill you myself. Besides, I don't think my dad would have wanted them to become killers - just for you."

No one spoke for a long moment. "Very well," said Lupin, he and Black both lowering their wands. "Stand aside, you two."

We both hesitated.

"I'm going to tie him up," Lupin said. "That's all, I swear."

We stepped out of the way. Lupin used the same spell Snape had, and in the next moment, Pettigrew was wriggling on the floor, bound and gagged.

"But if you transform, Peter," growled Black, his own wand pointing at Pettigrew too. "we _will_ kill you. You agree, Lyra? Harry?" I looked down at the pitiful figure on the pitiful figure on the floor, and nodded so that Pettigrew could see it. Lyra walked over to Ron with a dismissive wave of her hand.

She waved her wand at Ron's leg. _"Ferula"_ bandages spun up Ron's leg, snapping it tightly to a splint. She then helped him to his feet; Ron put his weight gingerly on the leg and didn't wince.

"That's better," he said. "Thanks."

"It'll have to do until we can get you to Madame Pomfrey." she said.

"What about Professor Snape?" said Hermione in a small voice, looking down at Snape's prone form.

"There's nothing seriously wrong with him," said Lupin, bending over Snape and checking his pulse. "Lyra was just a bit...overenthusiastic. Still out cold. Er - perhaps it would be best if we didn't revive him until we're safely back in the castle. We can take him like this..."

He muttered, _"Mobilicorpus" _As though invisible strings were tied to Snape's wrists, neck, and knees, he was pulled into a standing position, head still lolling unpleasantly, like a grotesque puppet. He hung a few inches above the ground, his limp feet dangling. Lupin picked up the Invisibility Cloak and tucked it safely into his pocket.

"And two of us should be chained to this," said Black, nudging Pettigrew with his toe. "Just to make sure."

"I'll do it" said Lupin.

"And me." said Ron savagely, limping forward.

Black conjured up heavy manacles from thin air; soon Pettigrew was upright again, left arm chained to Lupin's right, right arm chained to Ron's left. Ron's face was set. He seemed to have taken Scabbers's true identity as a personal insult. Crookshanks leapt lightly off the bed and led the way out of the room, his bottle brush tail held jauntily high.


	18. Black pt2: Buckbeak and Prongs

**I honestly have no excuse as for why this is so damn late. I promised to get better about updating, and I neglected to do so. I am really sorry.**

* * *

><p>I can honestly say that I've never been part of a stranger group. Crookshanks lead the way down the stairs; Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron went next, looking like entrants in a three legged race. Next came Professor Snape, drifting along creepily, his toes hitting each stair as we descended, held up by his own wand, which was being pointed at him by Black. I padded along behind him, morphed, with Harry and Hermione bringing up the rear.<p>

Getting back into the tunnel was a challenge, at least for the others anyway. Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron had to turn sideways to manage it; Lupin still had Pettigrew covered with his wand. I could see them edging along awkwardly along the tunnel single file. Crookshanks was still in the lead. I want right after Black, who was still making Snape drift along ahead of us; he kept bumping his lolling head on the low ceiling. I had the impression Black was making no effort to prevent this.

"Lyra?" Black asked suddenly. I morphed to show that I was listening to him. "I wanted to ask you..."

"Yes?"

"Your Christmas present...did you like it?" he seemed unsure, and slightly awkward as he asked.

"What p-" I broke off with a small gasp, my hand flying to the chain of the necklace that was hidden inside my shirt. "It was you, wasn't it?" I asked, pulling it out to hold the locket in my fist, even as we continued walking. "The locket, and all those memories..."

"I wasn't sure if you would appreciate it. I just figured that you could use-

"I love it." I said, interrupting him. "I really do. You've no idea how much it means to me." He looked back at me, throwing a sort of half-smile.

"From what you said earlier...you know that I'm your godfather."

"Yeah, Harry told me." I said quietly.

"Well...your parents appointed me your guardian," he said stiffly. "If anything ever happened to them..." I waited, as did Harry, who could hear everything we were saying. Did he mean what I thought he did? "I'll understand, of course, if Harry doesn't want to leave your aunt and uncle," Black said. "Or if you wanted to stay in the group home Dumbledore provided you with. But...well...think about it. Once my name's cleared...if you wanted a...a different home, a permanent one..." I felt like fireworks were going off in my stomach.

"What - live with you?" Harry asked suddenly, I heard him crack his head against the low ceiling of the tunnel. "Leave the Dursleys?"

"The three of us together?" I asked, shocked.

"Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to." Black said quickly. "I understand, I just thought I'd-"

"Are you insane?" I asked, my shock becoming elation. "Actually live with my family?"

"Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house?"

"When can we move in?"

Black turned right around to look at us; Snape's head was scraping the ceiling but Black didn't seem to care. "You want to?" he said. "You mean it?"

I grinned like a fool, nodding my head as Harry spoke. "Yeah, we mean it!" Black's gaunt face broke into the first true smile I'd seen upon it. The difference it made was startling, as though a person ten years younger was shining though the starved mask; for a moment, he was recognizable as the man in the picture Harry had shown me; the man laughing at our parents' wedding

We didn't speak again until we had reached the end of the tunnel. Crookshanks darted up first; he had evidently pressed his paw to the knot on the trunk, because Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron clambered upward without any sound of savaging branches. Black saw Snape up the hole, then stood back for Harry, Hermione, and I to pass. At last, all of us were out.

The grounds were very dark now; the only light came from the distant windows of the castle. Without a word, we set off. I startled Black by placing a hand on his shoulder. To people like my brother, it was a familiar gesture; it was leverage. So he was even more shocked when I morphed and used my grip on his shoulder to leap up onto them. I chuckled and settled loosely across them.

Black shot Harry a look. Harry smirked and shrugged. "She dose that sometimes. Usually to me, but I did see her do it once to Draco Malfoy." Black stiffened a bit at Draco's name. My brother frowned and rolled his eyes. "I know, and so dose she. But he's...nice to her I guess. I don't understand it either."

Black nodded. After a minute he spoke again. "She used to do this when she was little." he said, gesturing to where I now sat. "I'm surprised she still dose."

"She did?" Harry asked, surprised.

Black nodded. "She always used to nap on people. She sat on your father's head once." he laughed at that, and Harry looked like he was having a conniption. I flicked my tail at Black's face, making him laugh harder.

I huffed and shut my eyes. _Boys_. I then began thinking about what we'd spoken of in the tunnel; I was going to get to live with these two. My _family_. Harry would leave the Dursleys and the two of us would get to move in with Sirius Black, our parents' best friend...It gave me a bit of a dazed feeling. Suddenly, I realized that the dark seething ball of anger had left my chest. The realization made me feel happy, content.

A cloud must have shifted, because light pricked at my eyelids, I opened them to see that there were now dim shadows on the ground. We were all bathed in the moonlight.

Snape collided with Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron, who had stopped abruptly. Black froze, He threw one arm out to make Harry and Hermione to stop.

I could see Lupin's silhouette. He'd gone ridged. Then his limbs began to shake. I felt dread curl in my stomach. What was it that Snape had said?

"Oh my-" Hermione gasped. "He didn't take his potion tonight! He's not safe!" Oh, right. That was it.

"Run." Black whispered. "Run. Now." Harry did no such thing, Ron was still chained to Pettigrew, who was chained to Lupin. Harry would never abandon a friend. He leaped forward, and I leaped to the ground as Black caught him around the chest and threw him back. "Leave it to me - RUN!"

There was a terrible snarling noise. Lupin's head was lengthening. So was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws. Crookshanks's hair was on end again; he was backing away-

As the werewolf reared, snapping it's long jaws, Sirius disappeared from our midst. He had transformed. The enormous, bearlike dog bounded forward. As the werewolf wrenched itself free of the manacle binding it, the dog seized it about the neck and pulled it backward, away from Ron and Pettigrew. They were locked, jaw to jaw, claws ripping at each other -

_Werewolves are only a danger to people._ I realized that it wasn't just that they wouldn't simply attack animals without provocation, a werewolf's bite didn't effect them.

Without thinking about how small I was by comparison, I lunged at Lupin. I sank my teeth into his back leg. He kicked at me, whipping around and tearing his attention from Black, who took advantage of his distraction, leaping and bowling the werewolf over. I scrambled after them, leaping onto Lupin's back and digging my claws in as I gripped his scruff with my teeth. I was unprepared however, when he rolled over onto his back, squashing me. I lay there panting for a moment, but I screeched in pain when I felt teeth sink into my own fur. It was now that I became aware of how small I was, Lupin's muzzle alone covered half of my body. But It wasn't really all that important as pain lanced deeply through my body as I was shaken like a rag doll and thrown to the side.

I lay there stunned and whimpering in pain, unable to move even after Harry shouted that Pettigrew had escaped. I was on my side heaving in painful breaths. I felt someone pick me up, and I heard the sound of a dog in pain, then I blacked out after that.

* * *

><p>"Shocking business...shocking...miracle none of them died...Lyra Potter especially, it's a true miracle that she was transformed when Lupin attacked her...Never heard the like...by thunder, it was lucky you were there, Snape..."<p>

"Thank you, Minister."

"Order of Merlin, Second class, I'd say. First Class, if I can wrangle it!"

"Thank you very much indeed, Minister."

"Nasty cut you've got there...Black's words I suppose?"

"As a matter of fact it was Miss Potter."

_"No!"_

"Black had bewitched her and her friends, I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, to judge by their behavior. She and her friends seemed to think there was a chance he was innocent. Miss Potter wasn't responsible for her actions. On the other hand, her interference might have permitted Black to escape...The four of them obviously thought they were going to catch Black single-handed. Weasley, Granger, and Mister Potter have got away with a great deal before now...I'm afraid it's given them a rather high opinion of themselves, dragging Miss Potter in with them...and of course the Potters have always been given an extraordinary amount of license by the headmaster-"

"Ah, well, Snape...Harry and Lyra Potter, you know...we've all got a bit of a blind spot where they're concerned."

"And yet - is it good for them to be given so much special treatment? Personally, I try and treat them like any other students. And any other students would be suspended - at the very least - for leading their friends into such danger. Consider Minister - against all school rules - after all the precautions put in place for their protection - out-of-bounds, at night, consorting with a werewolf and a murderer - and I have reason to believe that Mister Potter has been visiting Hogsmeade illegally too-"

"Well, well...we shall see, Snape, we shall see...the pair of them have been undoubtably foolish..."

I lay listening with my eyes shut tight. It felt like my back and sides had been sliced open. And then I remembered getting bitten. The teethmarks felt like they had grown in proportion with my transformation back into a human. I could feel the bandages wrapped around my upper body and around my middle. The pain was duller than it should have been though. I guessed that Madame Pomfrey must have given me some kind of potion, though it's effects were clearly fading. I was groggy too, my limbs felt like lead; my eyelids were too heavy to lift...I wanted to lie here, on this comfortable bed, forever...

"What amazes me most is the behavior of the dementors...you've really no idea what made them retreat, Snape?"

"No, Minister...by the time I had come 'round they were heading back to their positions at the entrances..."

"Extraordinary. And yet Black, and Harry, and the Granger girl-"

"All unconscious by the time I reached them. I bound and gagged Black, naturally, conjured stretchers, and brought them all back to the castle."

There was a pause. My brain seemed to be moving a little faster, and as it did, a gnawing sensation grew in the pit of my stomach...what did they mean dementors? When had they come?

I opened my eyes.

"Ah, you're awake!" I heard a woman say. I blinked blearily, how could she know so quickly? I turned my head to where the voice had come from, a woman whom I assumed was Madame Pomfrey stood over my brother's bed. Harry, whom seemed a bit disoriented without his glasses, was just beginning to sit up. Across the room, I could see Hermione sitting up in a hospital bed. The door to the hospital wing was ajar, and the voices of the British Minister of magic, Cornelius Fudge and Severus Snape could be heard drifting through.

Groaning slightly at the pain in my sides and back, I sat up.

"Oh, my dear!" said the mediwitch. "How are you feeling?" she asked, rushing over to my side.

I winced as my side ached again. "It hurts to move." I croaked, suddenly realizing how raw my throat felt. I grimaced, remembering the harsh would-be scream that I'd emitted while being shaken by the werewolf.

She nodded and hurried off, returning almost immediately, holding a small bottle of some kind of potion. "Drink all of this." she said handing it to me. "It should numb you down." I nodded and did as she said. Although it did taste like goblin piss.

"We need to see the headmaster." Harry said. I lowered the bottle, swallowing back the vile taste so that I could look at him. He had put on his glasses and his wand was in his hand.

"Potter," said Madame Pomfrey soothingly as I tried to finish off the potion, there was still almost half of it left. "It's alright. They've got Black. He's locked away upstairs. The dementors will be preforming the kiss any moment now-"

"WHAT?"

I almost choked on the last of the potion, I sat there coughing as Harry and Hermione jumped up from their beds. But his shout had been heard in the corridor outside; next second, Cornelius Fudge and Snape had entered the ward.

"Harry, Harry, what's this?" said Fudge, looking agitated. "You should be in bed - has he had any chocolate?" he asked Madame Pomfrey anxiously.

"Minister, listen!" I said, still coughing slightly, as I stood from the bed walking over to stand next to my twin, cringing slightly, and wrapping an arm around my middle; the potion had yet to begin working. "Sirius Black is innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! We saw him tonight! He confessed to being the one who handed over our family! You cant let them do that thing to Sirius, he's-"

But Fudge was shaking his head with a small smile on his face. "Lyra, Lyra, you're very confused, you and your brother have been through a dreadful ordeal, lie back down, now, we've got every thing under control..."

Harry who'd been shaking beside me, chose this moment to chime in. "YOU HAVEN'T!" he yelled. "WEREN'T YOU LISTENING? YOU'VE GOT THE WRONG MAN!"

"Minister, listen, please," Hermione said; she had hurried to our side and was gazing imploringly into Fudge's face. "I saw him too. It was Ron's rat, he's an Animagus, Pettigrew, I mean, and-"

"You see, Minister?" said Snape. "Confunded, all three of them...Black's done a very good job on them..."

"WE'RE NOT CONFUNDED!" Harry and I roared in unison.

"Minister! Professor!" said Madame Pomfrey angrily. "I must insist you leave. These three are my patines, and Miss Potter especially should not be distressed!"

"I'm not distressed, we're trying to tell them what happened!" I said furiously, feeling my eyes begin to prickle. I would _not_ cry.

Harry nodded. "If they'd just listen-"

But Madame Pomfrey had suddenly stuffed a large chunk of chocolate into Harry's mouth; he choked, and she seized the opportunity to force him back onto his bed. She grabbed my arm and began trying to drag me back to my bed, ignoring my protests. "Now, _please_, Minister, these children need care. Please leave-"

The door opened again. It was Dumbledore. Harry was struggling to swallow the mouth full of chocolate, so I spoke to the headmaster. I wrenched my arm out of the mediwitch's grasp and walked back towards Harry.

"Professor Dumbledore, Sirius Black-"

"For heaven's sake!" said Madame Pomfrey hysterically, grabbing at my arm again. "Is this a hospital wing or nor? Headmaster, I must insist-"

"My apologies, Poppy, but I need a word with the Potters and Miss Granger." said Dumbledore calmly. "I have just been talking to Sirius Black-"

"I suppose he's told you the same fairytale he's planted in the Potters' minds?" spat Snape. "Something about a rat, and Pettigrew being alive-"

"That, indeed, is Black's story." said Dumbledore, surveying Snape closely through his half-moon spectacles.

"And dose my evidence count for nothing?" snarled Snape. "Peter Pettigrew was not in the Shrieking Shack, nor did I see any sign of him on the grounds."

"That's because you were knocked out Professor!" said Hermione earnestly. "You didn't arrive in time to see-"

"Miss Granger, HOLD YOUR TONGUE!"

"Now, Snape," said Fudge, startled. "The young lady is disturbed in her mind, we must make allowances-"

"You're talking to a lost cause, Minister." I spat, throwing my once-favorite teacher the filthiest look I could manage. "Snape is blinded by hatred of every one of us, _including _my godfather_. _If you'd just listen to-"

"I would like to speak to Harry, Lyra, and Hermione alone." said Dumbledore abruptly. "Cornelius, Severus, Poppy - please leave us."

"Headmaster!" sputtered Madame Pomfrey. "They need treatment, they need rest-"

"This cannot wait," said Dumbledore. "I must insist."

Madame Pomfrey pursed her lips and strode away into her office at the end of the ward, slamming the door behind her. Fudge consulted the large gold pocket watch dangling from his waistcoat.

"The dementors should have arrived by now," he said. "I'll go and meet them. Dumbledore, I'll see you upstairs." He crossed to the door and held it open for Snape, but Snape hadn't moved.

"You surely don't believe a word of Black's story?" Snape whispered, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore's face.

"I wish to speak to the three of them alone." Dumbledore repeated.

Snape took a step towards the headmaster. "Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen." he breathed. "You haven't forgotten that, Headmaster? You haven't forgotten that he once tried to kill _me_?"

"My memory is as good as it ever was, Severus." Dumbledore said quietly.

Snape turned on his heel and marched through the door Fudge was still holding. It closed behind them, and Dumbledore turned to Harry, Hermione, and I. We all burst into speech at the same time.

"Professor, Black's telling the truth - we _saw_ Pettigrew-"

"-he escaped when Professor Lupin turned into a werewolf-"

"-he's a rat-"

"-Pettigrew's front paw, I mean, finger, he cut it off-"

"-Pettigrew attacked Ron, it wasn't Sirius-"

But Dumbledore held up his hand to stem the flood of explanations.

"It is your turn to listen, and I beg you will not interrupt me, because there is very little time." he said quietly. "There is not a shred of proof to support Black's story, except your word - and the word of three thirteen-year-old wizards will not convince anybody. A street full of eyewitnesses saw Sirius murder Pettigrew. I myself gave evidence to the Ministry that Sirius was your parent's Secret-Keeper."

"Professor Lupin can tell you-" I said, unable to stop myself.

"Professor Lupin is currently deep in the forest, unable to tell anybody anything. By the time he is human again, it will be too late, Sirius will be worse than dead. I might add that werewolves are so mistrusted by our kind that his word will count for very little - and the fact that he and Sirius are old friends - what he did to you Lyra-"

"But-"

"_Listen to me._ It is too late, you understand me? You must see that Professor Snape's version of things is far more convincing than yours."

"He hates Sirius," Hermione said desperately. "All because of some stupid trick Sirius played on him-"

"Sirius has not acted like an innocent man. The attack on the Fat Lady - entering Gryffindor tower with a knife - without Pettigrew, alive or dead, we have no chance of overturning Sirius's sentence."

_"But you believe us."_

"Yes, I do." said Dumbledore quietly. "But I have no power to make other men see the truth, or to over rule the Minister of Magic..."

I stared up into the grave face and felt the ball in my chest return. But it was different this time, instead of anger, it was a quaking grief. A feeling of emptiness. I'd just gotten back my last remaining family member besides my brother. And now he was as good as gone. The dementors would take away his soul, and he'd forever more be an empty husk. The way that Harry had spoken of him before, I had expected Dumbledore to be able to pull some amazing solution out of the air. But no...our last hope was gone. I fell backward onto Harry's bed and gulped in some air, fighting a losing battle with the tears that were threatening to spill over.

"What we need," said Dumbledore slowly, and I looked up to see the headmaster's light-blue eyes move from my brother and I, over to Hermione. "is more _time_."

"But-" Hermione began, and then her eyes got very round, "OH!" My confusion distracted from my tears.

"Now, pay attention." said Dumbledore, speaking very low, and very clearly. "Sirius is locked in Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor. Thirteenth window from the right of the West Tower. If all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But remember this, the three of you: _you must not be seen. _Miss Granger, you know the law - you know what is at stake... _You-must-not-be-seen._"

I didn't have a clue what was going on, and from the look on his face, neither did Harry. Dumbledore had turned on his heel and looked back as he reached the door. "I'm going to lock you in. It's-" he consulted his watch, "five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck."

"Good luck?" Harry repeated as the doors closed behind Dumbledore. "Three turns? What's he talking about? What're we supposed to do?"

But it seemed that Hermione wasn't listening, as she was fumbling with the neck of her robes, pulling from beneath them a very long, very fine gold chain. The last of my tears dried instantly; if that was what I thought it was-

"Harry, Lyra, come here." she said urgently. _"Quick!"_

I stood up and moved close to her, and Harry did the same, though he seemed totally bewildered. She was holding the chain out, and I felt my heart flutter with hope when I saw the tiny, sparkling hourglass that was dangling from it.

"Here-" She had thrown the chain around our neck's as well. "Ready?" she asked breathlessly.

"What are we doing?" Harry said, completely lost.

Hermione turned the hourglass over three times.

The dark ward dissolved. I had the sensation that I was flying very fast, backwards. A blur of colors and shapes rushed past us, I could feel my hears pounding and my stomach did a flip. I was not a fan of the flying sensation. I tried to shout, but I couldn't hear my own voice.

And then I felt solid ground beneath my feet again, and everything came back into focus.

I was standing with Harry and Hermione in the deserted entrance hall and a stream of golden sunlight was falling across the paved floor from the open front doors. I felt the chain cut into my neck a bit as Harry jerked around to look at Hermione.

"Hermione, what-?"

"In here!" Hermione seized his arm, and I morphed so that I could chase after them without the chain digging into my skin. Though I was unprepared for the dull ache in my muscles, originating from the bite, which made itself known as I transformed. Ignoring it, I followed Hermione as she dragged my brother across the hall and shoved him into a broom closet. I hurried in behind, just as she slammed the door shut.

"What - how - Hermione, what happened?" I heard Harry stammering.

"We've gone back in time," Hermione whispered, I heard the light jingling as she pulled the chain over my brother's head. "Three hours back..."

"But-"

"Shh! Listen! Someone's coming! I think - I think it might be us!" She pressed her ear against the cupboard door. "Footsteps across the hall...yes, I think it's us going down to Hagrid's!"

"Are you telling me," Harry whispered, "that we're here in this cupboard and we're out there too?"

"Yes," said Hermione, her ear still glued to the cupboard door. "I'm sure it's us. It doesn't sound like more than three people...Lyra was on your shoulder Harry...and we're walking slowly because we're under the Invisibility Cloak-" She broke off, still listening intently. "We've gone down the front steps..." She sat down on an upturned bucket, looking disparately anxious. Harry, however, seemed to want his answers now.

"Where did you _get_ that hourglass thing?"

"It's a Time-Turner," Hermione whispered, "and I got it from Professor McGonagall on our first day back. I've been using it all year to get to all my lessons. Professor McGonagall made me swear I wouldn't tell anyone. She had to write all sorts of letters to the Ministry of Magic so I could have one. She had to tell them I was a model student, and that I'd never use it for anything except my studies... I've been turning it back so I could do hours over again, and that's how I've been doing several lessons at once, see? But...

"Harry, Lyra, _I don't understand what Dumbledore wants us to do._ Why did he tell us to go back three hours? How's that supposed to help Sirius?"

I stared at her shadowy face as she rambled. "There must be something that happened around now that he wants us to change," Harry said slowly. "What happened? We were walking down to Hagrid's three hours ago..."

"This _is_ three hours ago, and we _are_ walking down to Hagrid's" said Hermione. "We just heard ourselves leaving..." When she put it like that, it made my head spin a bit.

"Dumbledore just said - just said we could save more than one innocent life..." It hit him the same time that it did me. "Hermione, we're going to save Buckbeak!"

"But - how will that help Sirius?"

I morphed so I could answer her. "Dumbledore said - he just told us where the window is - the window of Flitwick's office! Where they've got Sirius locked up! We've got to fly Buckbeak up to the window and rescue Sirius! Sirius can escape on Buckbeak - they can escape together!"

Hermione was staring at us wit terror. "If we manage that without being seen, it'll be a miracle!"

"Well we've got to try, haven't we?" Harry said, I morphed to get out of his way as he stood up to press his own ear against the door. This cupboard was dreadfully cramped. "Doesn't sound like anyone's there...Come on, let's go..." He pushed the closet door open. The entrance hall was deserted. As quietly and quickly as we could, we darted out of the closet and down the stone steps. The shadows were already lengthening, the tops of the trees in the Forbidden Forest were again gilded with gold.

"If anyone's looking out of the window-" Hermione squeaked, looking up at the castle behind us.

"We'll run for it," said Harry determinedly. "Straight into the forest, all right? We'll have to hide behind a tree or something and keep a lookout-"

"Okay, but we'll need to go around by the greenhouses!" Hermione said breathlessly. I couldn't help but think that the Gryffindor girl needed to loosen her corset, or whatever it was that had her so uptight all the damn time. "We need to keep out of sight of Hagrid's front door, or we'll see us! We must be nearly at Hagrid's by now!"

The double-placement-speak still made my head spin a bit, which was not helped by our sprint towards the forest by way of the greenhouse detour. If Draco could hear her he'd say she was being a confusing twat on purpose. That thought caused a pang in my heart. Draco...He'd been trying so hard lately to get me back to normal. He'd apologized to me about a thousand times by now and I still had yet to even speak to him. _I should make up with him... Even if he can be an obtuse prat._

When we finally saw Hagrid's house through the trees, I heard a knock on the door. Harry and Hermione quickly hid behind a wide oak trunk, peering out from either side. As I was currently a creature of the forest, I didn't need to hide nearly as much, though I did press my ears down against my head so that the inner white fluff would be covered, and pressed my white belly to the ground. Even like this though, I still had the best view. I watched as Hagrid appeared in his doorway, shaking and white, looking around to see who'd knocked. Straining my ears, I could hear my brother's low voice.

"It's us. We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we can take it off."

"Yeh shouldn've come!" Hagrid whispered. He stood back, then shut the door quickly. "This is the weirdest thing we've _ever _done." Harry said fervently. I felt the irrationally smug green-eyed-monster rear it head. I'd heard about my brothers wicked adventures through letters, even given advice to help the Gryffindor trio, for two years in a row. And now I was finally part of the action. Even if it was tinged with the graveness of the situation.

"Let's move along a bit," Hermione whispered. "We need to get nearer to Buckbeak!" The three of us crept through the trees until we could see the nervous hippogriff, tethered to the fence around Hagrid's pumpkin patch.

"Now?" Harry whispered.

I morphed and had to keep myself from smacking the side of his head. "Are you kidding me here?" I rasped. "If we steal him now, then those Committee members will think Hagrid did it! We have to wait until they've seen him out here." Hermione nodded in agreement.

"That's going to give us about sixty seconds." said Harry, frowning and wrinkling his brow. I had to agree, it did seem a bit impossible. A moment later, there was a crash of breaking china from inside Hagrid's cabin.

"That's Hagrid breaking the milk jug," Hermione murmured. "I'm going to find Scabbers in a moment-" I clenched my jaw at the thought of that monster. Sure enough, a few minutes later, we heard Hermione's shriek of surprise.

"Hermione," said Harry suddenly. "what if we - we just run in there and grab Pettigrew-"

"No!" said Hermione in a terrified whisper. "Don't you understand? We're breaking one of the most important wizarding laws! Nobody's supposed to change time, nobody! You heard Dumbledore, if we're seen-"

"We'd only be seen by ourselves and Hagrid!" I said, backing up my brother's idea.

"Guys, what do you think you'd do if you saw yourselves bursting into Hagrid's house?" said Hermione.

I faltered, and Harry frowned. "I'd - I'd think I'd gone mad," he said. "or I'd think there was some Dark Magic going on-"

"_Exactly!_ You wouldn't understand, you might even attack yourselves! Don't you see? Professor McGonagall told me that awful things have happened when wizards have meddled with time... Loads of them ended up killing their past or future selves by mistake!"

"Okay!" said Harry. "It was just an idea, I just thought-"

But I saw something that was of far more importance than their argument, I nudged my brother and pointed towards the castle, both Gryffindors stopped. I stepped back so that the other two could have a clearer view. At the distant front doors, Dumbledore, Fudge, the old committee member, and Macnair the executioner were coming down the steps.

"We're about to come out!" Hermione breathed.

And sure enough, moments later, Hagrid's back door opened, and Harry, Ron, Hermione and myself walked out of it, following Hagrid. It was without a doubt, the oddest feeling I'd ever experienced, standing behind a tree, and watching myself in the pumpkin patch. I got nervous and morphed, flattening myself against the forest floor, and hiding behind Harry, peeking around him.

"It's ok Beaky," said Hagrid "It's ok..." He turned to our past selves. "Go on," He said. "Get goin."

But we didn't move. All at once the others started talking.

"Hagrid, we cant-

"We'll tell them what really happened -"

"They cant kill him -"

"Go! It's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all!"

I watched in fascination as I saw myself morph and leap up onto my brother's shoulder as Hermione threw the Invisibility Cloak over us.

"Go quick. Don' listen..."

There was a knock on Hagrid's front door. The execution party had arrived. Hagrid turned around and headed back into his cabin, leaving the back door ajar. I watched the grass flatten in patches all around the cabin and heard three pairs of feet retreating. The four of us had gone...but the three of us hidden in the trees could now here what was happening inside the cabin through the back door.

As we were gone, I stepped out from behind the tree a bit, trying to see what was going on, trying to seem as natural and inconspicuous as I could. "Where is the beast?" came the cold voice of Macnair.

"Out-outside," Hagrid croaked.

I flattened myself to the ground again as Macnair's face appeared in the window, staring out at Buckbeak. Then we heard Fudge.

"We - er - have to read you the official notice of execution, Hagrid. I'll make it quick. And then you and Macnair need to sign it. Macnair, you need to listen too, that's procedure-" Macnair's face disappeared from the window. It was now or never.

"Wait here," Harry whispered to us. "I'll do it."

As Fudge's voice started again, my brother darted out from behind the tree, vaulted the fence into the pumpkin patch, and approached Buckbeak.

_"It is in the decision of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures that the hippogriff Buckbeak, hereafter called the condemned, shall be executed on the sixth of June at sundown-"_

I watched with apprehension as Harry approached Buckbeak. Little relief was given when the great hippogriff bowed to him, for that was not the biggest concern at the moment. As Harry fumbled with the knot of rope tying Buckbeak to the fence, I strained my ears.

_"...sentenced to execution by beheading, to be carried out by the Committee's appointed executioner, Walden Macnair..."_

"Come on, Buckbeak," I heard my brother say quietly. "come on, we're going to help you. Quietly...quietly..."

_"...as witnessed below._ Hagrid, you sign here..." I watched with panic rising in my chest as Harry threw his weight onto the rope, but Buckbeak had dug in his front feet.

"Well, let's get this over with." said the reedy voice of the Committee member from inside the cabin. "Hagrid, perhaps it would be better if you stay inside-"

No, I - I wan' ter be with him... I don' wan' him ter be alone-" Footsteps echoed from within the cabin.

_Shit!_ I darted out from the trees and grabbed the rope, beside my brother. _"Buckbeak, move!"_ I hissed. We gave a strong tug on the rope around Buckbeak's neck and the hippogriff began to walk, rustling his wings irritably. I was painfully aware that we were still ten feet away from the forest, in plain view of Hagrid's back door.

"One moment, please, Macnair." came Dumbledore's voice. "You need to sign too."

The footsteps stopped. We heaved on the rope. Buckbeak snapped this beak and walked a little faster. _"Please, Buckbeak; we have to move!"_ I begged quietly. I could still hear Dumbledore's voice talking from within the cabin. We gave the rope another wrench and Buckbeak finally gave into a grudging trot. We had reached the trees...

"Quick! Quick!" Hermione moaned, Rushing out from her hiding spot to help us, adding her weight to the rope to make Buckbeak move faster. I looked past the hippogriff at the hut, realizing we were finally out of sight; I couldn't see the garden at all.

"Stop!" I whispered over my shoulder to the others. "They might hear us-" I cut myself off when we heard Hagrid's back door open with a bang. The three of us stood quite still; even the hippogriff seemed to be listening intently. Silence...then-

"Where is it?" said the reedy voice of the Committee member. "Where is the beast?"

"It was tied here!" said the executioner furiously. "I saw it! Just here!"

"How extraordinary." Dumbledore said. There was a note of amusement in his voice.

"Beaky!" said Hagrid huskily.

There was a swishing noise, and the thud of an axe. The executioner seemed to have swung it into the fence in anger. And then came the howling, and this time we could hear Hagrid's words through his sobs. "Gone! Gone! Bless his little beak, he's _gone_! Musta pulled himself free! Beaky, yeh clever boy!" Buckbeak started to strain against the rope, trying to get back to Hagrid. The three of us tightened our grips and dug our heels into the forest floor to stop him.

"Someone untied him!" the executioner was snarling. "We should search the grounds, the forest-"

"Macnair, if Buckbeak was indeed stolen, do you really think the thief would have led him away on foot?" said Dumbledore, still sounding amused. "Search the skies, if you will...Hagrid, I could do with a nice cup of tea. Or a large brandy."

"O' - o' course, Professor," said Hagrid, who sounded weak with happiness. "Come in, come in..."

We stood there for several moments, hearing footsteps, the soft cursing of the executioner, the snap of the door, and then silence once more. "Now what?" Harry asked.

"We'll have to hide in here." said Hermione, who looked shaken. "We need to wait until they've gone back to the castle. Then we wait until it's safe to fly Buckbeak up to Sirius's window. He wont be there for another couple of hours...Oh, this is going to be difficult..." She looked over her shoulder into the depths of the forest; the sun was setting now.

Shoving aside thoughts of flying and heights, I cleared my throat quietly. "We're going to have to move." I informed them. "We've got to be able to see the Whomping Willow, or we wont know what's going on."

"Okay," said Hermione, Harry nodding as well, getting a firmer grip on the rope. "But we've got to keep out of sight, guys, remember..." We moved around the edge of the forest, darkness falling thickly around us, until we were hidden behind a clump of trees though which we could make out the Willow.

"There's Ron!" said Harry suddenly.

A dark figure was sprinting across the lawn, a smaller shadow hot on it's heels. It's shout echoed through the still night air. "Get away from him - get away - Scabbers, come _here_ -" And we saw two more figures materialize out of nowhere, a silvery material which could only be the invisibility cloak, streaming behind them. I watched Harry and Hermione, along with the small shadow that was me, chasing after Ron. Then I saw Ron dive. "_Gotcha!_ Get off, you stinking cat-"

"There's Sirius!" said Harry. I looked in time to see the great shape of the dog bound out from the roots of the Willow. I watched as he bowled Harry over, then seize Ron... "Looks even worse from here, doesn't it?" Harry said as we watched the dog pulling Ron into the roots. "Ouch - look, I just got walloped by the tree - and so did Mione - this is _weird_-"

The Whomping Willow was creaking and lashing out with it's lower branches; I could see Harry darting here and there, Hermione dithering uncertainly, myself standing tensely with my wand fisted in my hand, and pressed to my forehead as I though through my spells. And then the tree froze. "That was Crookshanks pressing the knot." said Hermione.

"And there we go..." I muttered, watching the three of us disappear under the tree. "We're in." The moment we were out of sight, the tree began to move again. Seconds later, we heard footsteps near by. Dumbledore, Macnair, Fudge, and the old Committee member were making their way up to the castle.

"Right after we'd gone down the passage!" said Hermione. "If _only_ Dumbledore had come with us..."

"Macnair and Fudge would've come too," I said bitterly.

"I bet you anything Fudge would've told Macnair to murder Sirius on the spot." Harry added darkly.

We watched the four men climb the castle steps and disappear from view. For a few minutes the scene was deserted, then- "Here comes Lupin!" said Harry as we saw another figure sprinting down the stone steps and haring towards the Willow. I looked up at the sky. Clouds were obscuring the moon completely. We watched Lupin seize a broken branch from the ground and prod the knot on the trunk. The tree stopped fighting, and Lupin, too, disappeared into the gap in the roots.

"If he'd only grabbed the cloak," Harry groaned. "It's just laying there..." He turned to Hermione. "If I just dashed out now and grabbed it, Snape'd never be able to get it and-"

"Harry, _we mustn't be seen_!"

"Besides Harry, what would it change?" I hissed. "So Snape wont get the cloak, but all that'll do is make him stop Sirius and Lupin talking that much faster! And if that happens, and we don't hear enough, we might not believe them enough to give them a chance! We might side with Snape!" Harry's eyes widened. Of course he hadn't considered it, I shook my head and sighed irritably. "Harry, changing the past, even small things, is _dangerous_. There's a reason what we're doing is illegal in more than one way."

Hermione nodded. "She's right Harry. And-" she cut off with a small gasp, waving for us to be quiet, then hunkered down.

I was confused until I saw a patch of platinum hair, practically glowing in the dark of the night, bobbing along down the path. "The bloody hell is he doing out here?" I muttered, mostly to myself. As he walked closer, my curiosity got the better of me, and I morphed. Keeping my body low to the ground, and my ears flat against my skull, I crept forwards to where I was hiding just off the path back to the castle, half hidden under a blackberry bush. I winced when one of the thorns dragged against my wounds from before.

Now that I was closer, I realized that there was another person as well. His skin was so much darker than Draco's pallid complexion, I didn't notice him before. On top of that, he had the hood of his cloak pulled up, basically hiding.

"Remind me why we're out here again?" Blaise hissed, looking about. "We might be caught!"

"Lyra's not back in the common room. And as far as I know, no one's seen her since dinner." Draco responded.

"And the reason we're looking out here for her is what now?"

"That hippogriff's execution was today." I could hear the regret in his voice, and saw it on his face when he stopped practically in front of me. "She and her brother probably came out here to give that oaf- to give Hagrid their support." I couldn't help but be glad of his correction.

"But by now they might be back up in the Gryffindor common room." Blaise pointed out, still looking unusually jumpy. "And if they are, and we go to Hagrid's cabin anyway, do you really think he'll be pleased to see _you_ of all people? On today of all days?"

"Damn it Blaise, I know alright! I'm just worried about her. She's been so off lately - you cant tell me that you're not worried too." Draco said firmly.

The Italian put a hand on his friend's arm. "I am mate, and I know where you're coming from. But even as off as she is, Lyra's still a very capable witch. We both know that. She can take care of herself, and if she's with her brother I'm even more certain that we're making something out of nothing here. Let's just go back to the common room, if she's not at breakfast then we'll go to Snape. Not seeing her since _dinner_ isn't a whole lot of reason to start panicking."

"But-"

"Mate, come _on_." the hand that had been resting on Draco's arm grabbed his robes and started dragging him back towards the castle. "I really don't fancy getting detention this close to the end of the year."

After they were gone, I extracted myself from under the bush, wincing again as another thorn or two dragged over my back, and trotted back to Harry and Hermione. "It's fine, they were looking for me, but they're going back to the Slytherin dungeons."

"Why were they looking for you anyway?" Harry asked, frowning.

I rolled my eyes. "They were worried because no one's seen me since dinner, and apparently I've been acting a bit off recently."

"You don't say?" he said dryly.

I grinned sheepishly in response before sitting down on a tree root where I could easily see the Willow. Barely two minutes after Draco's blond self had disappeared into the castle, the doors burst open again, and Snape came charging out of them, running towards the willow. We watched as he skidded to a halt next to the tree, looking around. He picked up our father's Cloak and held it up. "Get your hands off it." Harry growled. Hermione and I both shushed him. Snape seized the branch Lupin had used, prodded the knot, and disappeared into the roots.

"So that's it." Hermione said quietly. "We're all down there...and now we've just got to wait until we come back up again."

I nodded grimly. "Though, while we're waiting, can one of you fill in what happened after I blacked out?" Speaking of which, I noticed that the potion I was given was already wearing off. Madame Pomfrey had probably expected me to go to sleep after taking it. And running around had probably made it go through my system faster than it should've.

"Right." Harry said, sitting down opposite me, still looking miffed that Snape had the Cloak. "Just after that, Lupin ran off into the forest, and Pettigrew escaped." I snarled at that, but Harry continued. "We heard Sirius yelp, and we had to leave you with Ron when we went after him. We found him by the edge of the Black Lake, with hundreds of dementors."

I felt the bottom of my stomach drop out. _"What?"_ I hissed. "How did you three get away?"

Hermione nodded. "That's the part I don't get either Harry. Why didn't the dementors get Sirius? I can remember them coming, and then I think I passed out...there were so many of them..."

Harry shifted and explained what he remembered. How the nearest dementor had lowered it's mouth to his own, and just before it made contact, a pair of silver _somethings _had come across the lake, and forced the dementors to retreat. One had been large, and galloped across the water, and the other had been small, sprinting over, and darting to protect Sirius, Hermione, and himself; standing between the three of them. But his eyes had been slightly blinded by the light they'd given off in the dark night, and he couldn't see what their forms truly were. I could feel myself slightly gaping at him by the time my brother finished.

"But what were they?" Hermione asked, sounding a little breathless.

I shook my head. "There's only one thing they could have been, to make the dementors go. A pair of real Patronus, and powerful ones at that."

"But who conjured them?" Hermione asked eagerly. Harry was silent then. He looked conflicted. "Didn't you see what they looked like? Were they teachers?"

"No," Harry said. "They weren't teachers."

"Bit they must have been really powerful sorcerers, to drive all those dementors away...If the Patronesses were so bright, didn't it light them up? Couldn't you see-?"

"Yeah, I saw them." said Harry slowly. "But...maybe I imagined it...I wasn't thinking straight...I passed out right afterward..."

"Harry, you're being unnecessarily confusing. _Who do you think it was_?" I demanded.

"I think-" Harry swallowed, looking uncomfortable and confused. "Lyra, I think it was our parents."

I think my heart stopped beating, then ice grew around it. "Harry, mum and dad are _dead_. I saw them die. I don't know how we lived through it, but people don't just _survive_ the Killing Curse."

"Do you think it was his ghost?" Hermione asked carefully.

"I don't know...no...he looked solid..."

"Besides, ghost's can't do magic Hermione." I said tersely.

"Maybe I was seeing things," Harry said. "But...from what I could see...it looked like them...I've got photos of them, and Lyra has the memory locket..."

I couldn't help myself thinking that the effects of the dementors must have addled his brain. Harry seemed to be telling the truth, and he really did believe what he'd seen, but I had been the one to see them die. Harry had spoken of memories of them, and that was the one that he did not have, not that I would ever willingly let him see it.

But Harry wasn't crazy. As easy as it would be to assume he was, I knew my brother.

We all sat quietly after that. Hermione stared a the Willow, waiting. Harry sat across from me, looking pensive. And I sat as still as I could, thinking quietly, and wincing every now and again as pain rippled through me. My assumption had been correct; the pain potion was anything but heavy duty. Much less long lasting. From the centralized bruising I could feel on several points on my rib cage, I could tell I must have broken or at least fractured a few ribs. But Madame pomfrey had healed them up. Apparently neglecting the bruises that were left behind. My back and sides were going to be hideous.

After about a half hour, Hagrid had wandered up to the castle, singing loudly, a bottle swinging from his large hands. We'd had to restrain Buckbeak again at that point. And then it had to have been another half an hour or a quarter less than an hour before something else happened.

"Here we come!" Hermione whispered. The three of us stood, Buckbeak raised his head. We saw Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron clambering awkwardly out of the hole in the roots. Then came Hermione...then the unconscious Snape, drifting weirdly upwards. Next came myself, then Harry, followed by Sirius. We all began to walk towards the castle. I smirked briefly as I saw Sirius's reaction to my jumping on him. Even I could admit that I was strange at some times, and that was one of my odder quirks that people either loved or hated.

My heart began to beat very fast. Helplessly, I kept glancing up at the sky. Any moment now that cloud would move aside and show the moon. I saw Harry tensing up, staring at Pettigrew. I understood, but...

Hermione seemed to have noticed as well. "Harry," she muttered. "We've got to stay put. We mustn't be seen. There's nothing we can do..."

"So we're just going to let Pettigrew escape all over again..." he sad quietly.

"Even I couldn't find a rat in the dark." I said, as unhappy as he was. "There really is nothing we can do. We came back to help Sirius; we're not supposed to do anything else."

_"All right!"_ he snapped.

Just then, the moon slid out from behind it's cloud. We saw the tiny figures across the grounds stop. Then there was movement.

"There goes Lupin," Hermione whispered. "He's transforming-"

"We have to move." Harry said suddenly, cutting her off. "Now!"

"We mustn't. I keep telling you-"

"Not to interfere! Lupin's going to run into the forest, right at us!"

Hermione gasped. "Quick!" she moaned, dashing to untie Buckbeak. I felt myself beginning to shake. I didn't much fancy another run in with those teeth. "Where are we going to go? Where are we going to hide? The dementors will be coming any moment-"

"Back to Hagrid's!" Harry said. "It's empty now - come on!"

We ran as fast as we could, I even shifted and darted ahead of the two of them. Buckbeak was cantering along behind us. And further behind, I could hear the howling of the werewolf... The cabin was in sight; the three of us skidded to a halt, and Harry wrenched open the door. I flashed past him, nearly getting trampled by Hermione and Buckbeak as they did the same. Harry threw himself after us and bolted the door. Fang the boarhound barked loudly.

"Shh, Fang, it's us!" said Hermione, hurrying over and scratching his ears to quiet him. "That was really close!" She said to my brother and I.

I morphed and tried not to start shaking. "Too close if you ask me. The last thing I need is another bite."

"If you hadn't charged at Lupin in the first place-" Harry started to say.

I growled and cut him off. "Oh shut it. What would you have done if you were me? Are you saying I should have just left Sirius to fend for himself?" He frowned and looked away, clearly not having thought through that one; I glared. "Yeah. I thought so, prat." I grumbled.

Instead of responding, my brother walked to the window and looked out at the sky. I walked over and looked out over his shoulder. It was much harder to see what was going on from here. Buckbeak seemed very happy to find himself back in Hagrid's house. He lay down in front of the fire, folded his wings contentedly, and seemed ready for a good nap.

"I think I'd better go outside again, you know?" Harry said slowly. "I can't see what's going on - we don't know when it's time -"

"Harry, are you mad? With Lupin still prowling about out there?" I said, not understanding his logic. I glanced at Hermione who was watching him suspiciously.

"I'm not going to interfere." Harry quickly supplied to her. "But if we don't see what's going on, how're we going to know when it's time to rescue Sirius?"

I felt a tug on my heart as he mentioned our godfather. Hermione frowned. "Well... Okay... We'll wait here with Buckbeak... but Harry, be careful - Lyra's right, Professor Lupin's still out there. and then there's the dementors -"

"I'm going with you." I said abruptly. "I don't want you out there by yourself Harry, something could happen and we'd never know until it was too late."

He smirked. "Yes mum." He responded as he stepped outside.

I followed and shut the cabin door behind us. We could hear yelping in the distance. From what Harry had said that meant that the dementors were closing in on Sirius, and my brother and Hermione's past selves would be running to him any moment. The pair of us stared out towards the lake, and I could feel my heart doing a kind of drumroll in my chest. It did not escape my thought that the people who'd cast the Patronesses would be appearing at any moment. I watched Harry as he stood for a fraction of a second, seeming irresolute, in front of Hagrid's door. I nearly reminded him that we couldn't be seen, but I restrained myself. I hadn't said anything to Hermione because I was being a bit selfish, but I knew why Harry really had wanted to come out here. And I couldn't help but feel much the same. We didn't want to be seen, but rather, be the ones seeing. To know who has saved us.

And then from almost nowhere, there were dementors. They were emerging out of the darkness from nearly every direction, gliding around the edge of the lake... They were moving away from where we stood, to the opposite bank... we wouldn't have to get near them...

Harry began to run, and I followed behind him. My sides were beginning to burn and sharp jabs of pain were lancing up and down my spine, but I kept running, barely even noticing as adrenaline pounded through me. I couldn't hear past the blood roaring through my ears. The lake was coming nearer and nearer, but there was no sight of anybody. On the opposite bank, I could see tiny glimmers of silver - Harry's own attempts at a Patronus.

There was a bush at the very edge of the water. Harry threw himself behind it, and I followed suit, peering desperately through the leaves. I felt my gut clench as the glimmers of silver from the opposite bank were suddenly extinguished. A terrified excitement hung in the air between my brother and I. It would happen any moment from now.

"Come on!" Harry muttered suddenly, staring about. "Where are you? Mum, Dad, come on-" But no one came. I raised my head to look at the circle of dementors across the lake, one of them was lowering it's hood. It had to be time for the rescuer to appear - but there was no one in sight.

Suddenly a memory from when I'd been at the burrow flashed before my mind's eye.

I_ put my paws on the table and glared at Harry as I morphed back to normal. "Oh go away. You may look like Dad but you aren't him. So quit acting like it." I said lightly sticking out my tongue._

_Mrs Weasley frowned. "No, well yes, but, it's just that you look so much like your mother... for a moment I could have sworn..."_

It was so obvious. "It was us last time." I said, jumping out from behind the bush and pulled out my wand.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Harry do the same, he must have realized the same thing I did. He gripped my hand as we both pointed our wands and in unison roared the spell. _"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" _

And out from the tips of our wands burst, not mere shapeless clouds of silver mist, but two blinding, dazzling, silver animals. I screwed up my eyes, trying to see what they were. They were just as Harry has described. One looked big, and a bit like a horse, galloping silently away from us, across the black surface of the lake. The other was far smaller, sprinting at the bigger one's side, and already to far away to try and guess at it's form. I saw Harry's lower it's head and charge at the swarming dementors. Mine leapt into the middle of them while his galloped around the black shapes on the ground, and the creatures were falling back, scattering, retreating into the darkness... They were gone.

The pair of them then turned. Respectively, cantering and running back towards my brother and I across the still surface of the water. With a jolt, I realized that Harry's wasn't a horse. Nor was it a unicorn. It was a stag. Shining brightly as the moon above... coming back to us along side my own, which I could now discern as a small fox.

They stopped on the bank. The stag's hooves made no mark on the soft ground as it stared at us with it's large, silver eyes. Slowly, It bowed it's antlered head, and my own sank it's head, bending one of it's paws. But Harry's made me realize.

_"Prongs."_ Harry and I breathed at the same time. But as Harry's trembling fingers stretched toward the creature, it vanished. Looking down, I saw that mine had as well. I looked back at my brother, smiling with a kind of bittersweet emotion, and squeezed his hand. He squeezed back and returned my unsure smile. We stood there for a moment, sharing a moment where we both truly felt like the twins we were, where we felt our connection more deeply than ever.

It was broken with the sudden sound of hooves behind us - we let go and whirled around to see Hermione dashing towards us, dragging Buckbeak behind her. _"What did you do?"_ she said fiercely. "You said you two were only going to keep a lookout!"

"We just saves all your lives..." I said.

"Get behind here, behind this bush - I'll explain." said Harry. Hermione listened to what had just happened with her mouth open yet again.

"Did anyone see you?"

"Yes, haven't you been listening? _I_ saw us, but I thought we were our parents! It's okay!"

"Guys, I can't believe it... You conjured up a pair of Patronesses that drove away all those dementors! That's very, _very_ advanced magic..."

"Don't I know it. Last time I tried, I could barely create so much as a silver wisp. But I guess we knew we could do it this time, because, well, we'd already done it... Dose that make sense?" Harry nodded in agreement.

"I don't know - Look, it's Snape!"

The three of us peered around the bush at the other side of the bank. Snape had regained consciousness. He was conjuring up stretchers and lifting the limp forms of Harry, Hermione, and Sirius onto them. A fourth and fifth stretcher, no doubt carrying Ron and myself, were already floating at his side. Then, wand held out in front of him, he moved them away toward the castle.

"Right, it's nearly time." said Hermione tensely, looking at her watch. "We've got about forty-five minutes until Dumbledore locks the door to the hospital wing. We've got to rescue Sirius and get back into the ward before anybody realizes we're missing..."

And so we waited, watching the moving clouds that were reflected in the lake, while the bush next to us whispered in the breeze. Buckbeak, bored, was ferreting for worms again. As the time passed, I could feel the tension in me growing. Harry kept checking his watch every few seconds, which did anything but help. I was just starting to count the windows to the right of the West Tower when he finally spoke.

"D'you reckon he's up there yet?"

I huffed, and Hermione sat up a bit straighter. "Look!" she whispered after a second or so. "Who's that? Someone's coming back out of the castle!"

I stared through the darkness. The man was hurrying across the grounds towards one of the entrances. Something shiny glinted in his belt.

"Macnair!" I hissed.

"He's gone to get the dementors! This is it-" Harry stood up, Hermione and I following him, and the three of us got onto the hippogriff. My brother gave his housemate a leg up, and I leaped up as a fox. When Harry got on, I scuttled over to him and promptly hit myself in his robes. I _really_ hated flying. After a few moments he whispered to us. "Ready? Hermione, You'd better hold on to me."

In the next second I felt Buckbeak lurch forward and then the almost weightless feeling of flight as his powerful wings beat beneath us. Fear spiked in my chest, and I gripped my brother's jumper between my teeth in order to hold on. I could feel Hermione holding Harry very tightly just above me. She was muttering to herself. "Oh, no - I don't like this - oh, I _really_ don't like this -" And in that moment, I really couldn't have agreed more.

I felt Buckbeak bank to the left and then Harry pulled him up. "Whoa!" He muttered, leaning back as he did so.

If I didn't like flying, then I _really_ didn't like 'hovering' if that was what you could call it. I could feel us rising up several feet and then dropping briefly as Buckbeak beat his wings to remain airborne. It was a jerky motion that made me feel as though we were about to drop out of the sky like a stone.

"He's there!" Harry said. At this, I gathered up my courage and peeked out, letting go of the jumper and grabbing the robe instead. I spotted him as well. Sirius was in the chair in front of Flitwick's desk. Harry reached out, and as the hippogriff's wing's fell, was able to tap sharply on the glass.

Sirius looked up and I saw his jaw drop. He leapt up from where he was sitting and hurried to the window to try and opening, but it was locked.

"Stand back!" Hermione shouted to him, and from the corner of my eye, I saw her pull out her wand, still gripping my brother with her free hand. _"Alohomora!"_ she said, and the window sprang open.

"How-how-?" Said Black weakly, staring at the three of us, and the half-eagle half-horse on which we sat.

"Get on - there's not much time," Harry said, holding onto the hippogriff's neck to keep it steady. "You've got to get out of here - the dementors are coming - Macnair's gone to get them."

Black placed a hand on either side of the window frame and heaved his head and shoulders out of it. It was very lucky he was so thin, I thought idly, because the window was very narrow. In seconds, he had managed to fling one leg over Buckbeak's back and pull himself onto the hippogriff behind Hermione.

"Okay, Buckbeak, up!" said Harry, shaking the rope. "Up to the tower, come on!" I pulled my head back into Harry's robes as the hippogriff soared upward again, and remained there until he landed with a clatter on the battlements, at which point I leapt down immediately, and morphed.

"I am _never_, I repeat, _never_ doing that again." I said sternly. "I hate flying."

Sirius smiled. "Lilly said that to your father once."

"So it's hereditary." I said.

He laughed. "He kidnapped her and took her flying the next day. Took him a week to figure out how to turn his hair back to normal." I gaped, and Harry laughed.

The happy mood was quickly snuffed out. "Sirius, you'd better get going. Hurry." Harry said sadly. "They'll reach Flitwick's office any minute now, and they'll figure out that you're gone."

Buckbeak pawed the ground, tossing his sharp head. "What happened to that other boy Ron?" Black asked.

"He'll be fine, I mean, he's still out of it, but Pomfrey can fix him up just fine. And Harry's right Sirius you need to go." I said.

But he was still staring at the pair of us. "How can I ever thank-"

"GO!" the three of us shouted together.

Black wheeled buckbeak around, facing the open sky. "We'll see each other again." He said. "And you know, your parent's would be proud of you..." He squeezed Buckbeak's sides with his heels. We had to jump back as the enormous wings rose once more... The hippogriff took off into the air... he and his rider flew off.

I ran to the edge of the battlement and shouted after them. "See ya Padfoot! We'll miss you!"

The rider lifted a hand as he got smaller and small er in the sky, until a cloud passed over them and they were gone.

Behind me Harry chuckled. "You just had to turn it into an after school special. Didn't you?"

I turned and grinned at him. "Did you expect anything less from your over dramatic twin sister?" He laughed.

"Guys!" Hermione said, breaking us from our short reverie. "We've got exactly ten minutes to get back down to the hospital wing before Dumbledore locks us in!"

* * *

><p>Snape's disappointment became quite apparent while Madame Pomfrey was hovering over us back in the hospital wing a few minutes later. She was making us eat chocolate when we heard a distant roar of fury. I had to literally bite my tongue in order to tame my satisfied smirk.<p>

"What was that?" asked the medi-witch in alarm. Now we could hear angry voices, growing louder and louder. "Really - they'll wake everybody up! What do they think they're doing?"

I was trying to hear what was being said. They were drawing nearer and nearer- "He must have Disapparated, Severus. We should have left someone in the room with him. When this gets out-"

"HE DIDN'T DISAPPARATE!" Snape roared, now very close at hand. "YOU CANT APPARATE _OR_ DISAPPARATE INSIDE THIS CASTLE! THIS - HAS - SOMETHING - TO - DO - WITH - POTTER!"

"Severus - be reasonable - Harry and Lyra have been locked up -"

BAM. The door of the hospital wing burst open. Fudge, Snape, and Dumbledore came striding into the ward. Dumbledore alone looked calm. Indeed, he looked as though he were quite enjoying himself. Fudge appeared angry, but my head of house looked beside himself. "OUT WITH IT POTTER!" he bellowed. "WHAT DID YOU TWO DO?"

"Professor Snape!" shrieked Madame Pomfrey. "Control yourself!"

"See here, Snape, be reasonable," said Fudge. "This door's been locked, we just saw-"

"THEY HELPED HIM ESAPE, I KNOW IT!" Snape howled, pointing at my brother and I. His face was twisted; spit flying from his mouth. For the sake of appearances, I kept my face set in an expression of bewilderment. Though I wanted nothing more to grin smugly at the bastard.

"Calm down, man!" Fudge barked. "You're talking nonsense!"

"YOU DON'T KNOW POTTER!" shrieked Snape. "I KNOW HE DID IT! HE AND HIS SISTER -"

"That will do, Severus." said Dumbledore quietly. "Think about what you're saying. This door has been locked since I left the ward, ten minutes ago. Madame Pomfrey, have these students left their beds?"

"Of course not!" said the nurse, bristling. "I would have heard them!"

"Well, there you have it, Severus," said Dumbledore calmly. "Unless you are suggesting that these three thirteen year olds have managed to find a way to be in two places at once, I'm afraid I don't see any point in troubling them further."

Snape stood there, seething, staring from Fudge, who looked throughly shocked at his behavior, to Dumbledore, who's eyes were twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles. Snape whirled about then, robes swishing behind him, and in a manor that made me think of an angry bat, stormed out of the ward.

"Fellow seems quite unbalanced." Said Fudge, staring after him. "I'd watch out for him if I were you, Dumbledore."

"Oh, he's not unbalanced," said Dumbledore pleasantly. "He's just suffered a severe disappointment."

After they'd gone, my face broke into a smirk that would have done Salazar Slytherin himself proud, and high-fived my brother.


	19. The end of a year

After Lupin resigned, and the school calmed down about the whole affair of Sirius's escape, things honestly became a bit boring at Hogwarts. I started hanging around Harry and his friends again, as well as Blaise, and surprisingly enough, Theo Nott. I continued to punish Draco though. It was only about two weeks until the end of term, so it was lucky that I didn't have to avoid him for too long.

When I told Harry that I was going to be in America for a portion of this summer, he was thoroughly put out. Though, he perked back up when I promised it would only be a week or so. I made plans to hang out with Blaise and Theo at some point during the holidays. And generally waited for the year to end.

I noticed that every time that Snape looked at my brother's friends, or myself, his face would twitch unpleasantly, which was cause enough to avoid him as much as possible.

When I'd told Blaise why this was, he's been shocked, as well as impressed. Saying that Hermione should have been a Slytherin, but also having the grace not to comment on her blood status.

Exam results were sent out on the very last day of term. Percy had got his top-grade N.E.W.T.s; Fred and George had scraped together a handful of O.W.L.s each. Gryffindor House, meanwhile, largely thanks to their spectacular performance in the Quiddich Cup, had won the House championship for what I was told was the third year running, much to the chagrin of my fellow Slytherins. That meant that the end of term feast took place amid decorations of scarlet and gold, and that the Gryffindor table was the noisiest of the lot, as everybody celebrated. I had remained at the Slytherin table barely long enough to hold a short conversation with Blaise and Theo, before escaping the ever present gaze of Draco, coming from just to the left and across from me. Even as a rival house member, I was greeted warmly by my brother's rowdy housemates.

I finally did let Draco off the hook the next morning as I spotted he and Blaise walking down the steps towards the Hogwarts Express. I smiled and walked up behind the two of them, throwing my arm over each of their shoulders and sighing noisily. Ignoring the blond's shocked expression, I smiled lazily ahead. "I'm glad that the year's finally _over_ it was too hectic for my tastes. Hopefully, next year will be easier." I sighed.

Blaise chuckled as we stepped onto the train. "We can think about that when it starts, right now, I want to go home and enjoy doing nothing for a while."

I giggled, but stopped short when a dark cloaked figure blocked me and my friends' way to the compartments. Snape was glaring at me angrily. I raised an eyebrow. "Professor." I greeted tersely.

He sneered at me and held out an envelope. "Professor Dumbledore asked that I give this to you before you departed." I reached to take it from him but he did not let go once I had my hand on it. He glared cruelly at me. "I'm not sure how it is that you and your pathetic excuse for a brother managed it, but when I found out how you let Black out, I _will_ have you expelled." He spat, then let go of the letter.

I smirked deviously at him. "Bring it on, _Snivellus. _And for the record, the only way you _can_ figure it out is if you get my godfather to tell you himself. And even then, you'd have Dumbledore to contend with." I said pleasantly He seemed shocked and horrified at what I'd just called him, and didn't move. My smirk went from devious to smug. "Have a nice summer, Professor." and with that, I slipped past him.

Moments later, the boys caught up with me. Both asking questions.

"_What_ did you just call him?"

"Did he just say you let Black go?"

"Seriously, are you crazy?"

"What happened that night?"

"Boys!" I laughed, walking into an empty compartment and sitting down. "Enough." I pulled Nath out of a pocket in my robes and set him next to me. "First of all, Blaise, what I called him was an old nickname that my father and his old school friends had for him. One of many, as I understand it. And no, I'm not crazy, but he started it." I looked at Draco. "And yes, we let Sirius go." He gaped and started to say something, but I shushed him. "Let me explain."

It took the better part of forty-five minutes to tell him all of it. And by the end, he just looked shocked, as well as impressed. Just like Blaise had been. "You and your brother are batty, you know that?" I chuckled. After a minute, a look of realization crossed his face. "Wait, so, you mastered that spell? The charm against Dementors?"

I grinned and took out my wand, pointing it at the air. Thinking about Sirius and my brother, I cast the spell. Silver smoke poured from the tip of my wand, and took the form of a small silver fox. It bound around the compartment for a minute before I let it fade. "Harry's is more impressive though. It's a stag."

Draco and Blaise wore looks of awe. "Yours it impressive enough. Is it a fox because of your animagus form?" the blond questioned.

I shrugged. "Lupin said that the form it takes is determined by the personality of the caster. It's the same for animagi forms. But unlike with those, a person's Patronus can change if they go through an emotional upheaval of some kind. Like if they fell in love, or had a friend die. Big things."

"I see." he said

"So in a way, the form a person's Patronus is a personification of their true self throughout their life?" Blaise said slowly. I nodded. He became thoughtful. "I wonder what mine would be..." he said.

"Owl." Draco and I said in unison.

He looked up in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah." I said point-blank.

"How am I like an Owl? I'm no messenger."

I sighed and shook my head at Draco. He rolled his eyes, showing that he understood my meaning. It had totally gone over Blaise's head. The poor thing. "Speaking of messengers," He said, by way of changing the subject. "What did Dumbledore send you?"

I looked down at the letter still in my hand. Suddenly, I grinned. "I think I know." Tearing it open, I quickly scanned the contents before letting out a girlish squeal and punching the air. "Yes!" I shouted, startling the two boys.

"What just happened?" Blaise asked.

I smiled widely and read the letter aloud. _"Dear Miss Potter, In response to your pervious request, I am pleased to inform you that we will be able to extend a scholarship to Miss Burke. I have discussed it with the headmistress of Salem, and she has also vouched for the young lady's academic prowess. And, as two of this year's transfer students have graduated, there is indeed an open slot for Miss Burke. As per your second request, I have withheld any and all letters of announcement to the girl's family as of yet, and will continue to do so until the middle of July, so that you ma tell her yourself. Best wishes for a pleasant summer, Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry."_

I was ready to burst, but the pair of them looked lost. Blaise cleared his throat and spoke. "And who exactly is 'Miss Burke'?"

I grinned. "My best friend in the world. We've known each other since we were in diapers. Her parents were friends with my foster family."

Draco raised his eyebrows. "So why didn't she hop the pond with you?"

I frowned a bit. "Same reason she needs a scholarship. Her family just doesn't have the means for it. But I know she wanted to, so I talked to Dumbledore about it. It's sort of a birthday gift. She will probably move over here after the World Cup."

"She likes Quidditch?"

I chuckled. "She's a keeper on the Witch Trials team at Salem."

Blaise cocked an eyebrow. "Witch Trials?"

I shrugged. "The academy doesn't have houses like Hogwarts does, so there are around four to five teams run by the students. When I was there there were five, Witch Trials, Hawk Owls, Vipers, Pumpkin Heads, and Civil Rebellion."

"That last one sounds like a band name." Draco chuckled.

I smiled. "It is actually. The chasers and the seeker started it."

"Oh."

I nodded. "Since the schools are within the same country, there are inter school championships. The schools' best teams compete and the winners get tickets to the World Cup each year. And all our friends are on the team."

"So what you're saying is that all your friends are coming over for part of the summer?" Blaise summed up.

I smiled. "Pretty much."

"How are you fitting all this into one summer?" he smirked. "A week in the states, a week with me and Theo, I assume you'll be helping your friend move in, the Cup, probably time with Draco at more than one point, a week with the clan of red-heads plus your brother, and then that dance workshop you told me about. Have you never heard of a break? It makes me tired thinking about it. And that's without finding time for school shopping before the school year starts."

I stuck out my tongue. "You and Dragon _are_ the down time." I teased.

"Are you calling us low maintenance? Because, you've never seen Draco try and fix his hair in the morning."

The blonde shouted indignantly, as Blaise and I roared with laughter. And when we kept on, he sulked petulantly. I tried to make a sympathetic face but couldn't stop giggling. "Aww." I cooed, lurching across the compartment to sit beside him, slinging an arm over his shoulder, my free hand pinching his cheek lightly. "Is the poor baby upset? Chill out Dragon."

He smirked and pushed me away. "Come on, knock it off." he chided. Still chuckling, I went back to my seat. Changing the subject, he frowned. "And if anyone's low maintenance, it's Theo. How is he not down time?"

I smirked evilly. "Because he's a mission." I said, making the boys exchange glances. "He's a great guy, totally sweet, smart, but the kid reminds me of Eeyore."

"Who?" Draco asked, confused.

"A character in a muggle children's book. Eeyore is pessimistic, depressed, anhedonic -"

"And sounding more and more like Theodore Nott." Blaise said.

I nodded. "So I'm making it my personal mission to pull him out of his funk, and then, I'm setting him up with a girl whom I believe he will adore."

"Oh bloody hell." Draco groaned, slumping dramatically in his seat. "You're going to play matchmaker."

I snickered. "Yes Draco, I'm playing matchmaker. And not just for Theo. Ginny and Sara too."

"What together?"

I paled. "Oh god no!" I shuddered. "That is the last thing the world needs, they would destroy everything. No, if I get my way, Sara will be well on her way to dating a certain Weasley brother by the end of next year."

"And dare I ask about your plans for Weaselettie?"

I let the nickname slide. "That one might take a bit longer." I said, scrunching my nose up. "First I have to integrate her into our lovely Slytherin society."

"You're setting her up with one of our own? Have you gone mad?" Draco said in exasperation.

"I'm setting Theo up with a Gryffindor. Why not Ginny with a Slytherin?"

"She's a Weasley." he dead panned.

"Yes, and one that you will be nice to." I instructed, then bat my eyes at Blaise. "You'll help me right?"

"I don't have a choice, do I?"

"Nope, and neither do Draco and Theodore." I said sweetly.

"Brilliant." he drawled.

"Oh hush." I said, swatting at him.

"Moving on. Who are the other friends you said are coming over?"

I smiled. "Most of the rest of Witch Trials. I already told you Sara is keeper, Nicole and Emma are chasers, Max and Haley are the Beaters, and then Jarred is the seeker."

"Cool. Were you on the team?"

I started to laugh before I realized he wasn't kidding. "Hell no. I hate flying."

"Oh."

I smiled as I remembered something. Reaching into my book bag, I pulled out an old notebook. "There's a picture of us all in here somewhere." I muttered, flipping through. I found it near the middle. "Here." I turned to show it to them.

It was a picture that'd been taken just a few days before I'd left last summer for Godric's Hollow. There were two girls standing on the outside edge, one in the middle, sandwiched between two boys, and then two girls sitting on the boys' shoulders, arm in arm. As it was a magical picture, you could see us all laughing and the two girls wobbling as they struggled not to fall off. I pointed them out from left to right. "The one with the dyed hair is Haley, then thats Jarred, and Emma, the other guy's Max, and then next to him is Nicole, and the girl on Max's shoulders is Sara."

Blaise smiled. "You look like you guys were having fun."

I shrugged. "We were trying to forget that I was leaving. It was fun."

"Nicole's kinda cute..." Blaise started but my eye roll cut him off.

"Good luck with that one. She messes around with guys in order to get Max jealous, because he's totally oblivious to the fact that she is essentially in love with him." I said sardonically. "In her last letter, Sara told me that she's been getting progressively worse."

"That's just sad." He commented.

I shrugged. "It's Nicole. We've all grown sorta used to it."

For the rest of the train ride, we discussed the boys' summer plans, and I watched the two of them play exploding snap.

* * *

><p>I stepped through the barrier from nine and three-quarters beside Harry, spotting our ever so <em>pleasant<em> Uncle Vernon at once. He was standing a good distance away from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, eyeing them suspiciously, and when Harry was hugged by Mrs. Weasley in greeting, his worst fears about them seemed to have been realized.

"I'll call about the World Cup!" Ron called after us as we walked to where our uncle stood.

Vernon seemed about to say something when he was interrupted by someone else coming through the Barrier and calling after me. "Lyra!" I turned to see Draco jogging up to me. "I didn't see you leave the platform, sorry. I wanted to ask you something."

I glanced at my uncle who seemed quite indignant at Draco's interruption of whatever nasty comment he must have been preparing to make. "What is it?" I asked, cocking my head at him.

He smiled. "Next week, my Mum plans on throwing me a belated birthday party. As you were ignoring during my actual birthday, I wondered if you might grace my presence then? Friday at three, perhaps? At the manor of course, Blaise and Theo will be there as well."

I chuckled. "Very well, if I _must. _I'll be sure to bring you a gift."

He smiled. "Brilliant. I'll see you then, Lyra." He surprised me then by kissing my cheek before darting back through the barrier.

Blushing, I turned to see Harry glaring after him. "Oh leave him be, would you?" And then I walked past him towards the exit, pushing along my trolley, with Nath sitting on the top of my trunk.

I heard him hesitate before pushing his own trolley after me. And It was a moment later when Vernon spoke, well, snarled. "What's that? If it's another form for me to sign, then you've got another -"

"It's not." said Harry cheerfully, making me grin. "It's a letter from our godfather."

"Godfather?" Sputtered the portly man. "You haven't got a godfather!"

"Yes we do." I chimed in brightly. "He was our mum and dad's best friend. He's a convicted murderer, but he's broken out of wizard prison and he's on the run. He likes to keep in touch with us though... keep up with our news... check if we're happy... He even sent us Christmas presents." I looked back over my shoulder to see my brother grinning madly, and vernon frozen in horror.


	20. Summertime out-takes

**Some random out takes from Lyra's summer. Mostly for the purpose of humor and set ups for later.**

* * *

><p>Friday afternoon I floo'd into the Malfoy Manor, only to be quite confused. When Draco had owled me the details of his small party shortly after I'd settled back into the group home at Godric's Hollow, he's promised that he and the other two would wait there in the drawing room for me. But no one was there. If I wasn't fully aware that I was running a few minutes late, I'd have worried that I was early. Frowning, I dithered there, shifting my weight from foot to foot. I wasn't left for long however, as the sound of the floo going off seemed to have drawn an elegant woman who could only be Draco's mother, Narcissa Malfoy. I smiled unsurely at her.<p>

"Hello Mrs. Malfoy." I greeted. "I could have sworn Draco said that we'd meet in here. But I am a bit late, d'you know where he is?"

She nodded. "You must be Miss Potter. The boys were wondering what was keeping you, I think they went to owl you." She beckoned for me to follow her. "Come along my dear."

"Please, call me Lyra." I asked. She nodded, then lead me through a maze of rooms and hallways, and I couldn't help but admire the decor and the architecture of some of the rooms. "You have a beautiful home Mrs. Malfoy, truly." I said as I walked along beside her.

She beamed. "Thank you dear. It's been in my husband's family for nearly six generations. Although, recently I've been redecorating so that it doesn't seem quite as dreary."

"Well you're succeeding as far as I can tell, the decor is lovely."

She continued to smile. "You should see the gardens. They are the pride of my home."

"I'd love to." I said happily as we walked into yet another room. "My foster mother was a horticulturalist and I dare to say that her green thumb rubbed off on me."

"Is that why you always got perfect scores in herbology?" Chimed a familiar voice.

I turned to see Draco, Blaise, and Theo. I grinned and darted forwards, hugging him. "Dragon!" I pulled away to smile at him. "It's good to see you."

"You'd think that you hadn't seen me in months rather than days." he teased, making me shove him lightly.

Blaise sniffed, drawing my attention to the pitiful face he was making. "Where's my hug?" he said petulantly.

I chuckled. "Oh alright." And I then embraced him and then Theo. "There, is your ego repaired?"

"Only marginally." he simpered, making me roll my eyes.

"Draco when you told me about Lyra, you neglected to mention what a charming young lady she is." Mrs. Malfoy lightly scolded her son.

I blushed when Draco shot me a look. "Well, now you know, don't you?" He responded, chuckling. "We'll see you later then, Mum." He informed her as he and the other boys ushered me off towards a set of glass french doors. Once we were out of earshot he grinned at me. "Buttering up my mum, were you?"

I shrugged and grinned wickedly. "Only a little bit. It wouldn't exactly do for her to dislike me, now would it?"

The boys snickered. "I suppose not." He made a face. "Though you could have held off on calling my by any nicknames until after she was gone. Now she's going to be left to stew on that, and after you three leave, I'm going to be waylaid."

"I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm really not." I chuckled.

"Rude." he grumbled.

"You're rude."

* * *

><p>I'd given Sara's parents a forty-eight hour warning before I floo'd to their home in the upper east side of New York. They'd also already okayed the transfer program, so Sara could go. When I arrived, I found Mrs. Burke was sitting in a lounge chair, reading a book. "She's upstairs with Haley and Emma."<p>

I smirked. "What, no Nicole?"

She shrugged. "She's off on vacation with her family in Jamaica."

"Lucky." I grumbled to myself, walking towards the hall. "It was nice seeing you again Mrs. Burke." I called over my shoulder.

"You too, sweetie." came her reply.

When I got to the flight of stairs I was careful not to let the floorboards squeal as I made my way up towards my best friend's room. I pressed my ear to the door of her room to hear what the three were talking about. And smirking when I heard my name.

_"Hasn't sent a single... end of year... Seemed weird... about something."_

_"...tried Flooing? I mean... didn't... right?"_

_"...Blocked... I don't know."_

_"Lyra... strange lately."_

I opened the door with with a bang. "Geez, you try and set up _one _surprise and the world think's something awful's happened." I declared.

"Lyra!" And with that, I was encased in a large group hug.

"Can't breath!" I shouted, and then was abruptly released, and asked several questions at once, none of which I caught. "Stop!" I pushed past Haley and Emma to the strawberry blond who was bouncing on her heels, causing her tight ringlet curls to spring up and down with her. It was quite nearly comical. Smirking like the smug Slytherin snake I was, I pulled out the letter and handed it to her. "Very early Happy Birthday." I said.

Frowning, she took it and opened it to read the notice of her official enrollment at Hogwarts, as confirmed by her parents. Her eyes widened and she looked up to stare at me. "What did you _do?_" she whispered in amazement.

I frowned and took the thing back, starting to tuck it back into my robes. "Well I mean, if you don't want to go, then that's fine. I'll just tell Dumbledore that you were too stuck up to notice a good opportunity when it-"

"Have you lost your mind?! Of course I want to go!" She squealed, almost knocking me to the ground as she lurched forward to hug me.

"What's going on?" Haley asked. "What was on that paper?"

The two of us turned to smile at her deviously. "You're looking at not one, but _two_ Hogwarts students. That's what's going on." Sara said smugly.

Haley's eyes got wide, and Emma pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't have the energy to pray for the whole of the British Isles, so do me a favor and don't blow anything up."

"THAT WAS ONE TIME!" The two of us screeched.

This made everyone laugh. Once we were done, I noticed the new colors in Haley's hair. "Teal highlights?" I questioned. "And what happened to the purple?" I asked, realizing that the dark indigo was now simple black with teal tips.

She shrugged. "It got old. I'd had it for three years already."

I smiled. "Well, I won't try and argue that. I like it."

She grinned. "I've been trying to get my mom to let me get my nose pierced, maybe my lip."

"Oh really? And how's that going for you?" I asked skeptically.

"Shut up."

* * *

><p>"So this is your room." I said, parading with Sara into the white walled room.<p>

She looked at me blankly. "It's empty. There isn't even a bed."

I waved a finger at her. "Shut your eyes and officially say that it's your room. Then open them again." She looked at me oddly, and I rolled my eyes. "Just do it. Have I ever steered you wrong before?"

"You really don't want me to answer that." She muttered before closing her eyes. "This is my room."

I hadn't seen the transformation of my own room, so I was fascinated as I watched the room double in size, with furniture literally growing from nothing. The walls painted themselves in multiple shades of blue that faded evenly into each other in random places, as the carpet turned itself a deep wine red. A bed grew up from the floor in the left corner of the room's floor, while above it flowered a gauzy black canopy net that draped itself around the edges of the bed and to the floor. Bean bag chairs sprouted up in scattered arrangements on the floor, around a low coffee table. A muggle stereo framed itself on the wall, and a display case of sorts, clearly meant for Quidditch gear, appeared next to the window. A dresser popped up just beside the door. The theme of the room was clearly blue, black and burgundy. Which wasn't all that surprising, considering that those were her old quidditch colors.

Sara gasped when she opened her eyes, staring around open-mouthed. I smiled. "Like it? The room is charmed to conform to the owners perfect room."

"Which explains why yours has a dance studio."

I raised my eyebrow. "Are you trying to give me a reason not to help you unpack?"

* * *

><p>Yawning I sat up, frowning before I realized where I was. Groaning I looked over at the dark haired boy asleep on the recliner. "Theo." I called. When he just rolled over, grumbling unintelligibly, I threw a decorative couch pillow at him. "Theodore, we fell asleep."<p>

He groaned and sat up as well. "Did you have to throw things at me?

"Yes." I threw another one at him, hitting him squarely in the face.

"Bloody hell woman!" He exclaimed, throwing it back. I dodged and threw another. "Alright, that's it!" He grabbed one and hurled it at me with all the strength and speed of a chaser. With a squeal, I lost my balance from where I was kneeling on the couch and fell over the back and onto the floor.

"This means war Nott!" I declared, scrambling up and charging him, the pillow he's thrown clutched in my hands.

"Bring it _on_ Potter!"


	21. The Weasleys, The Dursleys

I woke from my dream in a cold sweat and breathing hard as though I'd been running, and my hand clamped over my shoulder. The old scar shaped like a bolt of lightning was burning beneath my fingertips like someone had pressed a white hot brand to my skin. Sitting up, I rubbed the area, as if it would help, and tried to calm my breathing.

I groped the table beside my bed for the light's switch. A soft light filtered past my ectoplasm green lamp shade, and I squinted before my eyes adjusted. I stood and walked to the window and threw the curtains apart, allowing a misty orange to filter into the room, then opened it and stepped aside so that Zephyr could fly in from the tree outside. He perched himself on my desk and proceeded to demolish the large mouse he'd seemingly caught.

I ran my fingers over my scar again. It was still painful.

I walked away from the window to the wardrobe, stopping briefly to scratch Maia behind her ears as she looked up at me from her cat bed. Nath was still asleep somewhere at the foot of my bed amongst the folds of comforter.

Still groggy and still thinking about my scar hurting, I tugged out a purple t-shirt and a set of yoga pants along with a bra to replace the sports bra I'd slept in. My underwear was clean enough and I was too lazy to have any inclination to change them. After I was dressed, I walked to one of the mirrors that covered half the room and stared at my reflection. The image of a skinny, if a bit leggy, fourteen year old with a case of bed head blinked back at me. Frowning, I dragged my onyx waves back behind my head and used the green scrunchy around my wrist to keep it there.

After that, I left my room and trudged downstairs to the kitchen, finding that Sara was already up and nursing a cup of black coffee. I crinkled my nose at the stuff. "How can you drink that tar?" I grumbled

"Easily." She snapped half-heartedly. Neither of us were morning people. I walked to the coffee machine and poured myself a cup, using the irish creamer that was hidden in the back of the fridge and a few cubes of sugar to dilute it. "Would you like some coffee with that?" She drawled as I stirred the mixture with a spoon.

"Shut up. I like it sweeter." I said waspishly.

She held up a hand in surrender. "Don't bite my head off, Circe."

I sighed and rubbed at my neck, which still hurt. "Sorry. Had a bad start to the morning."

"Your scar?" I nodded. "What happened?" Sara asked carefully.

I shook my head. "I had a nightmare about Voldemort, I think. It didn't seem like him though. It didn't seem human, but I could feel that same..."

"Malevolence? Presence?" She offered.

"Both work, but yes."

"Didn't you tell me Harry's scar hurts whenever Voldemort was near him? Like in the chamber of secrets and around that Quirel guy?" I nodded. "But the boggart Voldemort caused nothing?" nod. "So what was it about this dream that was different?"

I frowned. "It was really vivid, but apart from that, I've got no clue." I sat quietly for a moment before standing. "I'm gonna go write to Padfoot, maybe he'll know something." And with that, I walked back upstairs still carrying my coffee.

Once back in my room, I set down my mug and pulled a piece of parchment towards me, and unstoppered my byzantium colored ink. Zephyr shuffled away a bit, to keep his mouse from getting on my letter.

_Dear Sirius,_

_Thanks for your last letter. That bird you sent it with was enormous, it's lucky I have a big picture window._

_Things are the same as usual around here. Sara's still fun as I remember, Jason is still a prat, I still want to rip out Carly's oh-so-perfect bleached hair. _

_I visited Blaise this week, and I had to keep him and Sara from getting too close. They both are going to fall for redheads if I get my way. I'll lock the four of them in a broom closet if I have to. My plan to get Theo and Hermione to hang out is ready to be set in motion. Oh, and your cousin Narcissa officially loves me. Draco says that she would adopt me if she thought she could._

_We're going to the world cup in a few days, and I can't wait to see all my friends from America again._

_I'm okay though. I already told you how much fun I had at that dance workshop. And it's never a dull world with my certifiable menagerie of friends. I miss you though, and I don't see Harry as much as I'd like. But I'm okay._

_I have but one complaint, which is what prompted me to write to you. My scar was hurting this morning. It's never done that for me before. Harry says his hurts when Voldemort's around, but the git couldn't be near me now, right? Do you know anything about curse scars?_

_I'll send this when Zephyr is done eating his poor mouse, because if I don't let him finish, he'll get irritated. By the way, I hope you realize that he likes you. Most people he just tolerates. Feel special._

_Say hello to Buckbeak for me._

_Lyra_

Sara walked in just as I was sealing the letter. "Why do you insist on wax seals rather than a normal self-sticking envelope?" She complained as I dripped the hot wax on the parchment.

I frowned. "Because I'm abnormal, and I don't trust self-anything" I pressed the Hawk symbol into the cooling substance and held it there as it cooled for moving it. She rolled her eyes and plopped herself onto my couch. I tapped the letter against the desk near Zephyr to catch his attention. He looked up from his almost-finished breakfast. I held up the letter. "Sirius, ok?" I said, setting it down for him to take when he was done. "And put a rush on it, because it's important." He twittered at me and I went and sat down.

"So what tie are we going to the Weasleys'?" Sara asked.

I shrugged. "D'no. We should probably go sometime around noon. They wont be picking my brother up until tomorrow though."

"I still haven't met Harry yet you know."

I rolled my eyes and watched as my hawk flew out the window. "I'm aware." I said lightly. "But you also haven't met the Weasleys or Hermione. Or Luna. There are a lot of people you haven't met. So chill out."

I turned my head back towards her in time to see her imitating me. I raised an eyebrow. She rolled her eyes and stood up. "Well, I'm already packed for school and the Weasleys' so as we aren't leaving for another four and a half hours, I'm going back to bed."

I stood and intercepted her. "I am not letting you meet them looking like you just rolled out of bed. We are both going to shower and you will get dressed, and we will then leave."

She looked at me in exasperation. "Why do you keep insisting that I look good when I meet them?" I shrugged and walked over to my dresser to pull out a summer robe. It was one of my favorites, it was a green that was almost black, plus it was lighter and shorter so it gave it a bit of modern style flare without making me overheat. "Oh no." Sara moaned, seeming to have realized something. "You said that there are six teenage boys in their family."

"No. Bill and Charlie are both adults. And Percy is of age only this year." I said evasively.

"Fine." she said grumpily. "Three then. You're going to set me up with one of them. aren't you." I gave no response and took my time pulling the robe on. "I refuse." She said pointedly.

I whirled around. "Oh come on, George is a nice guy! Plus he's really funny, the two of you would be great together! He's exactly your type too."

She folded her arms petulantly. "You're unbelievable sometimes, you know that?"

I frowned. "Please don't shoot this down before you even meet the boy."

"Why should I?"

I sighed. "Because, you're both my friends, and I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think you'd both end up happy."

"You sound as if you think we'll end up married." She commented dryly.

I crinkled my nose. "As if. I'm not totally insane. Besides, you know my views on marriage."

Sara stood and glared at me for a moment before groaning. "Fine. I get the shower first though." And then she spun around and left. I grinned and mentally crossed my fingers.

* * *

><p>I stepped out of the grate with an excited step. Immediately I dropped my trunk by the door. "We're here!" I called out to no one in particular. There was a crash in the kitchen, and a moment later, the Weasley clan matriarch was walking into the room, waving her wand at whatever she'd knocked over. I chuckled and hugged the portly woman. "Hello Mrs. Weasley."<p>

"Hello dear, so good to see you." she said, giving me a squeeze before I stepped back. "Where's your fr-" The floo went off again, interrupting her.

I smiled and walked back to throw my arm around Sara's shoulder, and gesture to Mrs. Weasley. "Sara, this is Molly Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, this is my best friend Sara Burke."

She smiled meekly at the woman. "It's nice to meet you." She said.

"You as well sweetie. Are either of you hungry? I was just about to start up lunch." she said, eyeing us. "Lyra, you look as though you've actually lost weight, are you sure you've been eating enough?"

I laughed. "I exercise all the time, so does Sara, since we're both dancers. We eat plenty, we just don't gain a lot of weight from fats."

She looked unsure. "All the same-"

I chuckled. "Go cook Mrs. Weasley. I promise we'll eat."

"Alright, Ron and Hermione are upstairs." I smiled and nodded in thanks. "Oh, and I do hope that Ron or Ginny told you that Charlie and -"

"- Bill will be arriving tomorrow, I know Mrs. Weasley." I said with a warm and placating smile. After she left the room, I looked at my friend. "Sara, Just set your trunk next to mine, we can lug them upstairs later." I said heading for the stairs.

"Wait for me would you?" She said, walking to catch up.

"It's not like I was sprinting or anything." I said over my shoulder as I walked up the stairs. About three steps from the second landing I nearly ran into a tall red-head. "Oh, hey Fred." I said happily.

"We thought we heard you Lyra." He said, backing up so that Sara and I could walk into the hallway. "Who's your friend?" I didn't miss how both of the twins looked her over. Which was understandable considering it was Sara. As thin as we both were, she'd always had more curves to her.

I smiled and motioned to her. "Boys, this is Sara Burke. Sara, these are the Twins. Fred, and George. They'll be a year ahead of us at Hogwarts." I said, motioning to each respectively.

"N-nice to meet you." She said.

"Same to you." They replied in unison, grinning rather wolfishly.

I elbowed Sara, not understanding why she had stuttered. "The pair of them are beaters on the Gryffindor Quidditch team."

She seemed to brighten at this. "Oh really? Cool. I played Keeper for my team back at Salem Academy."

"Really? Because you seem more like the Seeker type." Fred said.

She put her hands on her hips. "And exactly what is that supposed to mean? Because for your information, I am a damn good Keeper, thank you very much."

Fred shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets. "I only meant that you seem better built for a Seeker's position, since most Keepers tend to be a bit more muscled."

"Excuse me?" I felt like smacking him upside the head.

"Mate, you're really not being very nice." George said, frowning and glancing. "Ravenclaw had a girl Keeper last year. Don't be so dismissive."

I sighed. "Thank you George. Sara, let's go before Fred says something else stupid." I said hurriedly, tugging her to the next set of stairs. Once we were out of earshot I apologized for the boy's idiocy. "I'm sure it sounded like a compliment in his head."

"It doesn't excuse him." she grunted.

"Look at it this way, Seekers are supposed to be light and fast, right?" She nodded. "He was saying that you are neither fat, nor butch. Happy now?"

"No."

Three introductions and a conversation later, we were upstairs talking with Ron and Hermione.

"Lyra, you know her best, what house do you think she'll end up in?"

I shrugged. "I'd like to say Slytherin, but it'll probably be Gryffindor or Ravenclaw."

"Good." Ron snorted. "I don't think I could handle having to be friends with more than one Slytherin."

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" I said, throwing a pillow at him. "Prat."

* * *

><p>I should have known that flooing to the Dursleys would end as a nightmare. I had been the first person to go through and I landed in a cramped and dark space, and moments later I had a heap of sixteen year old boy dumped on me. "Ouch! Fred, no - go back, go back, something's gone wrong - tell George not to - OUCH!" I shouted again when a second boy fell down through the floo. "George, no, there's no room, go back Quickly and tell Ron and your dad - OUCH! Bloody hell people!"<p>

"Maybe Harry can hear us Lyra - he could let us out -"

And with that the twins started banging on the boards blocking the grate. "Harry? Harry can you hear us?"

I heard muffled voices behind the boards, and I shushed the boys, trying not to shout again as Fred shifted so that _he_ wasn't as uncomfortable.

"Lyra? It's Harry... the fireplace's been blocked up, you wont be able to get through there."

"Damn!" Mr. Weasley said somewhere behind George. Not that I could see bast Fred's chest, which was crushing me. "Why on earth did they want to block up the fireplace for?"

"They've got an electric fire." Harry explained.

"Really?" Mr. Weasley began excitedly. "Electric you say? With a _plug_? Gracious, I must see that... Let's think... ouch, Ron!"

I groaned as I was crushed a little bit more. "What're we doing here? Has something gone wrong?"

"Oh no, Ron," Fred said very sarcastically from above me. "No, this is exactly where we wanted to end up."

"Yeah, we're having the time of our lives here." George added, sounding as though he was also squashed against the wall.

"Doing what? Trying to crush me to death!? I can barely breath under you you big apes! Mr. Weasley do something!" I wheezed.

"Right, of course. Stand back, Harry." He called, and then as I listened to Uncle Vernon's muffled voice as he questioned Harry, and then the loud bang that occurred before we all tumbled out from the chimney piece. It took a few moments for me to get my bearings, but when I did, I saw that we were in a rubble and dust covered version of the Dursleys' sitting room.

Uncle Vernon was sputtering in a nice suite that was covered in white dust, which had also settled in his hair and mustache which made him look as though he had aged several years. He was backing away from Mr. Weasley, dragging Petunia along with him. Mr. Weasley was explaining exactly _why_ we had all been stuffed in his family's chimney. But I didn't care too much since I had spotted the skinny teenager with glasses that was sitting on the couch looking as though he was trying his very hardest not to laugh at the scene that had unfolded in front of him.

"Harry!" I exclaimed, rushing to hug him. He stood up just in time to catch me. He lifted me and spun us in a circle. "It's been far too long!" I said happily as he set me down. "Has no one ever explained to you that twins shouldn't be separated? Take Fred and George for example-"

He finally started laughing. "It's good to see you too, Lyra." And with that I morphed and settled happily onto his shoulders. It was a good job that his shoulders were a bit broader than the rest of him, considering that even my Animagus form had grown over the summer, and I wasn't as small as I'd been last year.

"Hello Harry!" said Mr. Weasley brightly. "Got your trunk ready?"

"It's upstairs." Harry said, grinning back while reaching up to scratch my head. I snapped at his fingers good naturedly and slipped off his shoulders to stand beside him on two feet so that I could glare lightly a him. He knew I hated when people did that.

"We'll get it." Said Fred quickly. Winking at Harry, he and George left the room. They knew where my brother's bedroom was, having once rescued the both of us in the dead of night. That had been the first time I'd met the Weasley family. As they disappeared from sight, I suspected that the pair of them were hoping to catch a glimpse of Dudley; as I understood it, I wasn't the only one who'd heard a lot about him over the summer.

"Well," said Mr. Weasley, swinging his arms slightly, while he tried to find words to break the nasty silence. "Very - erm - very nice place you've got here."

As the room was covered in dust and bits of brick, this remark didn't go down too well with the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon's face purpled itself, and Aunt Petunia started chewing her tongue. However, they seemed too scared to actually say anything.

Mr. Weasley was looking around. After being back with the Weasley family for almost twenty four hours now, It was hard to forget that the man loved everything to do with muggles. He'd been thrilled when Sara had informed him that her pure-blood parents had a phone and a television in their home. He seemed to be itching to examine the Dursleys' model, as well as the video recorder.

"They run off eckelectricity, do they?" He said knowledgeably. "Ah, yes, I can see the plugs. I collect plugs." He added to Uncle Vernon. "And batteries. Got a very large collection of batteries. My wife thinks I'm mad, but there you are."

Uncle Vernon clearly thought Mr. Weasley was mad too. He moved ever so slightly to the right, screening Aunt Petunia from view, as though he thought Mr Weasley might suddenly run at them and attack.

Dudley suddenly appeared in the room from the kitchen, and I noted that the boy seemed to have managed to become almost wider than he was tall. I could hear the clunk of Harry's trunk on the stairs, and knew that the sounds had scared him away from the refrigerator and out of the kitchen. Dudley edged along the wall, gazing at Mr. Weasley with terrified eyes, and attempted to conceal himself behind his mother and father. I had to stifle a laugh at this, as unfortunately for my cousin, Uncle Vernon's bulk, while sufficient to hide boney Aunt Petunia, was nowhere near enough to conceal Dudley.

"Ah, this is your cousin is it, Harry, Lyra?" said Mr. Weasley, taking another brave stab at making conversation.

"Yep." Harry responded, "That's Dudley."

Harry, Ron, and I exchanged glances, then quickly looked away from each other; the temptation to burst out laughing was almost overwhelming now. Dudley was clutching his bottom as though he thought it might fall off. Mr. Weasley, however, seemed genuinely concerned at Dudley's peculiar behavior. Indeed, from the tone of his voice when he next spoke, I was quite sure Mr. Weasley thought Dudley was quite as mad as the Dursleys thought _he_ was, except that Mr. Weasley felt sympathy rather than fear.

"Having a good holiday, Dudley?" he said kindly.

Dudley whimpered. I saw his hands tighten still harder on his massive backside.

Fred and George came back into the room carrying Harry's school trunk. They glanced around as they entered and spotted Dudley's girth behind my aunt and uncle. Their faces cracked into identical evil grins. For probably the hundredth time since meeting them, I was grateful that they were protective of me rather than... well... anything else really. Then again they were protective of their family too, and Ron had been on the receiving end of their jokes several times, so it wasn't an extremely comforting thought.

"Ah, right." said Mr. Weasley. "Better get cracking then." He pushed up the sleeves of his robes and took out his wand. I saw the Dursleys draw back against the wall as one._"Incendio!"_ said Mr. Weasley, pointing his wand at the hole in the wall behind him.

Flames rose at once in the fireplace, crackling merrily as though they'd been burning for hours. Mr. Weasley took a small drawstring bag from his pocket, untied it, and took a pinch of the powder inside, and threw it into the flames, which turned avery Slytherinly emerald green and roared higher than ever.

"Off you go then, Fred." said the balding red-haired man.

"Coming," said Fred. "Oh no - hang on -"

A bag of sweets had _accidentally_ spilled out of Fred's pocket and the contents were now rolling in every direction - big, fat toffees in brightly colored wrappers. Fred scrambled around, cramming them back into his pocket, and then gave the Dursleys a cheery wave, stepped forward, and walked right into the fire, saying "the Burrow!" Aunt Petunia gave a little shuddering gasp. There was a whooshing sound, and Fred vanished.

"Right then, George," said Mr. Weasley. "You and the trunk."

Harry helped George cary the trunk forward into the flames and turn it on it's end so that he could hold it better. Then, with a second whoosh, George had cried 'the Burrow!" and vanished too.

"Me next, I think." I said, not willing to stay and watch whatever stupid prank they were attempting to pull on Dudley. I winked at my brother. "See you on the other side then, dork." I said, then stepped into the fire and shouted "the Burrow!" and with a spinning sensation, the Dursleys' living room was whipped out of sight in a rush of emerald green flames. A few moments later I was stepping out of the Weasley's own fire.

Fred was waiting anxiously in front of it. I rolled my eyes. "I don't think I _want_ to know what you two are scheming." I said dryly, before walking past them to see Sara listening intently as George was talking animatedly with two red-haired people I'd never seen before. Although I knew immediately who they must be: Bill and Charlie, the two eldest Weasley brothers.

"How do you do, Lyra?" said the nearer of the two, grinning at me and holding out a large hand, which I shook, feeling calluses and blisters under my fingers. This had to be Charlie, who worked with dragons in Romania. Charlie was built like Ron and his mother, shorter and stockier than Percy and the twins, who were all long and lanky. He had a broad, good-natured face, which was weather beaten and so freckly that he almost looked tanned; his arms were muscular, and one of them had a large, shiny burn on it.

Bill got to his feet, smiling, and also shook my hand. Bill was something of a surprise. I knew he worked for the wizarding bank, Gringotts, and that Bill had been head boy at Hogwarts; I had been picturing him to be an elder version of Percy: fussy about rule-breaking and fond of bossing everyone around. However, Bill was - there was no other word for it - _cool_. He was tall, with long hair that he'd tied back in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. He was wearing an earring with what looked like a fang hanging from it. Bill's cloths would not have looked out of place at a rock concert, except that I recognized that his boots were made from not leather, but dragon hide.

Before any of us could say anything else, the floo went off again, and then again a few moments later as both Harry and Ron came tumbling out of it, laughing hard, and simultaneously choking on ashes.

"Did he eat it?" Fred asked, helping them both up.

I didn't pay attention to the response as I huffed, rolled my eyes, and morphed as I walked around to sit beside Sara. This earned me a raised eyebrow from the two older Weasley brothers. They went to greet my brother, only ti be interrupted _again_ by the floo, through which a furious Arthur Weasley charged. "That _wasn't funny,_ Fred!" he shouted. "What on earth did you give that Muggle boy?"

"I didn't give him anything." said Fred with an evil grin. "I just _dropped _ti... It was his fault he went and ate it, I never told him to."

"You dropped it on purpose!" roared Mr. Weasley. "You knew he would eat it, you knew he was on a diet-"

"How big did his tongue get?" George asked eagerly. I was totally lost at this point. His _tongue?_

"It was four feet long before his parents let me shrink it!" Harry and the Weasley children roared with laughter. At this point I realized that those candies must have had engorgement charms in them. The kind that wouldn't activate until a triggering spell was activated. I frowned disapprovingly, but remained neutral. That sort of prank really wasn't funny. That kind of magic could go wrong easily, so it was a bit dangerous. Even more so considering that Dudley was a muggle.

"It _isn't funny_!" Mr. Weasley shouted. "That sort of behavior seriously undermines wizard-Muggle relations! I spend half my life campaigning against the mistreatment of Muggles, and my own sons-"

"We didn't give it to his because he was a Muggle!" said Fred indignantly.

"No, we gave it to him because he's a great bullying git!" said George. "Isn't he Harry?"

Why did they feel the need to drag my brother into this? "Yeah, he is, Mr. Weasley." said Harry earnestly.

"That's not the point!" raged Mr. Weasley. "You wait until I tell your mother -"

"Tell me what?" said a voice behind us.

Mrs. Weasley had just entered the kitchen. All things considered, the fact that they had chosen to have this argument in here, in the _kitchen,_ when everyone had known full well that she was starting dinner just before we left, was a very stupid idea. Because no matter how angry Mr. Weasley was with his sons, from the look on his face, he hadn't really intended to tell Molly what had happened.

"Oh, hello Harry." she said before looking back to Mr. Weasley. "Tell me _what_, Arthur?" she asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. There was a silence as Mr. Weasley eyed his wife nervously. Then, two girls appeared in the kitchen doorway behind Mrs. Weasley. One, with very bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth, was Hermione. The other, who was small and red-haired, was the youngest Weasley, Ginny. Both of them smiled at Harry, who grinned back, making Ginny go scarlet. The girl had fancied my brother ever since our first visit to the Burrow, just before second year.

"Tell me _what,_ Arthur?" Mrs. Weasley repeated in a dangerous sort of voice.

"It's nothing Molly," mumbled Mr. Weasley. "Fred and George just - but I've had words with them -"

"What have they done this time?" said Mrs. Weasley. "If it's got anything to do with Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes -"

"Why don't you show Harry where he'll be sleeping, Ron?" said Hermione from the doorway.

"He knows where he's sleeping," said Ron. "In my room, he slept there last-"

"We can all go." said Hermione pointedly.

"Oh," said Ron, cottoning on. "Right."

"Yeah, we'll come too." said George.

_"You stay where you are!"_ snarled Mrs. Weasley, looking much like a saber-toothed tiger.

Harry, Ron, Sara, and I edged out of the kitchen, and we, along with Hermione and Ginny, set off along the narrow hallway and up the rickety staircase that zigzagged through the house and upper stories.

"What are Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes?" Harry asked as we climbed, I once again had the feeling that I really would rather remain ignorant.

Ron and Ginny laughed, although Hermione didn't. "Mum found this stack of order forms in Fred and George's room," said Ron quietly. "Great long price lists for stuff they've invented. Joke stuff, you know. Fake wands and trick sweets, loads of stuff. It was brilliant, I never knew they'd been inventing all that..."

"We've been hearing explosions out of their room for ages, but we never thought they were actually _making_ things," said Ginny. "We just thought they liked the noise."

"Only most of the stuff - well, all of it really - was a bit dangerous." said Ron. "And, you know, they were planning to sell it at Hogwarts to make some money, and Mum went mad at them. Told them they weren't allowed to make any more of it, and burned all the order forms... She's furious at them anyway. They didn't get as many O.W.L.s as she expected."

"Well that's no real surprise about that. The pair of them are brilliant wizards, they'd have gotten more of them if they had bothered to try." I said.

Ginny nodded. "Exactly. So there was this big row," she said. "because Mum wants them to go into the Ministry of Magic like Dad, and they told her all they want to do is open up a joke shop."

I frowned. "Well, it's not really her decision to make, even if she is their mother. She can't live their lives for them. And what would it say about her parenting ability if she forced them into jobs that they didn't like or want? They would all three of them end up miserable. Fred and George because they wouldn't be doing what they wanted to from the start, and Mrs. Weasley because her sons could very well end up resenting her."

"See, but Mum doesn't look at it that way."

Just then a door on the second landing opened and a face poked out wearing horn-rimmed glasses and a very annoyed expression.

"Hi, Percy." said Harry.

"Oh hello, Harry." said Percy. "I was wondering who was making all the noise. I'm trying to work in here you know - I've got a report to finish for the office - and it's rather difficult to concentrate when people keep thundering up and down the stairs." Well at least that explained why I'd seen neither hide nor hair of him since getting here yesterday. He'd only made a brief appearance at dinner last night, and he hadn't been at lunch. Or breakfast this morning, or lunch today.

"We're not _thundering_," said Ron irritably. "We're walking. Sorry if we disturbed the top-secret working of the Ministry of Magic."

"What're you working on?" Harry asked, making Ron and Ginny groan.

"A report for the Department of International Magical Cooperation." said Percy smugly. "We're trying to standardize cauldron thickness. Some of these foreign imports are just a shade to thin - particularly the ones coming in overseas -" He ignored Sara and I as we gave indignant protests. " - leakages have been increasing at a rate of almost three percent a year -"

"That'll change the world, that report will," said Ron. "Front page of the _Daily Prophet_, I expect, cauldron leaks."

Percy went slightly pink. "You might sneer, Ron," he said heatedly. "but unless some sort of international law is imposed we might well find the market flooded with flimsy, shallow-bottomed products that seriously endanger -"

"Yeah, yeah, all right." said Ron, as he started off upstairs again. Percy slammed his door shut. As the rest of us followed Ron up three more flights of stairs, shouts from the kitchen below echoed up to us. It sounded as though Mr. Weasley had told Mrs. Weasley about the toffees.

When we entered Ron's room, a tiny grey owl that had delivered a letter from Sirius on the way back from school last year, was hopping up and down in a small cage, twittering madly.

"Shut _up_ Pig." said Ron, edging his way between two of the four beds that had been squeezed into the room. "Fred and George are in here with us, because Bill and Charlie are in their room. Lyra, Sara, and Hermione are all in with Ginny. Percy gets to keep his room all to himself because he has to _work_."

"Er - who's Sara, and why are you calling that Owl pig?" Harry asked Ron.

"Because he's being stupid." said Ginny. "It's proper name is Pigwidgeon."

"Ginny named him." Ron explained. "And I can't rename him because he wont answer to anything else. So now he's Pig."

"And as for who Sara is Harry," I said, pulling the minute blond out of the door frame and into his view. "_This_ is Sara Burke. She's been my best friend since we were children. She'll be attending Hogwarts with us this year. She's also a Quidditch player." I added in the last bit to catch Harry's attention. She'd be disappointed if she didn't become part of the group. And regardless of Ron or Hermione, Harry's approval was critical to her acceptance.

"Really? What position?" He asked, smiling lopsidedly at her.

"Keeper." she said, puffing up proudly. "It's nice to finally meet you Harry, Lyra hasn't shut up about you in weeks."

"Not true!" I protested.

She shrugged and extended a hand to my brother, which he shook. "Nice to meet you as well Sara." We all went to sit down then. Harry turned his attention back to Ron. "Percy's enjoying work then?"

"Enjoying it?" said Ron darkly. "I don't reckon he'd come home if Dad didn't make him. He's obsessed. Just don't get him onto the subject of his boss. _According to Mr Crouch... as I was saying to Mr. Crouch... Mr. Crouch is of the opinion... Mr. Crouch was telling me... _They'll be announcing their engagement any day now."

"Have you had a good sumer, Harry?" said Hermione. "Did you get our food parcels and everything?"

"Yeah, thanks a lot," said my brother. "They saved my life, those cakes."

I rolled my eyes and flopped onto my back. "Sorry I didn't send you food, but I wasn't exactly against Petunia's diet regime. I eat like that anyway without prodding. It's called being _healthy_."

"Half a grapefruit for breakfast is not enough food. And just because you're a health nut, doesn't mean I have to be." he grumbled.

I rolled my eyes, though he couldn't see me do it. "I am _not_ a health nut. I'm an athlete. So is Sara, so are you, so is Ron. And yet you boys eat food like it's going out of style."

"Dancing is _not_ a sport." Ron snorted.

I sat up and glared. "I'd like to see you do it."

"Ballroom dancing is ballroom dancing. It is in no way a sport."

I narrowed my eyes. "Have you ever even _seen_ a dancing competition? Ever seen a tango? Salsa? Cha-cha? Jive? Quick step? Paso doble? No? Then shut up." I snapped.

Sara nodded. "She's right you know. It takes years of training to fully master them past set routines. And the dancers' workshop she did this summer involved more than just ballroom." she looked at me. "What did you say that you'd worked on?"

I smirked. "Lyrical and jazz."

"And those are what?" Ron asked.

It was Hermione who answered. "They're types of modern dance, right?" I smiled and nodded approvingly. "Oh! I've seen those kinds on TV. They look really hard."

I puffed up slightly. "They are. I'm no where near mastering it though. I'm planning on taking another class next summer."

"I bet that'll be fun." Ginny said. I nodded.

"Whatever." Ron grumbled, clearly bored with the conversation.

"Oh, I'm sorry, was there not enough mention of Quidditch for you?" I asked dryly.

"Frankly, no."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I think the've stopped arguing." she said by way of changing the subject. "Shall we go down and help your mum with dinner?"

"Yeah, alright."

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><p><strong>REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! please?<strong>


	22. World Cup pt1: friends fluff & Quidditch

**Sorry for taking so long. But if it makes you feel any better, there's some minor fluff scattered in this chapter!**

**I don't own Harry Potter, or any of it's characters. If I did, Sirius Fred and several other people would still be alive. But sadly, I own my own OCs and thats it.****  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Dinner was served outside, as there was nowhere near enough room for thirteen people in the kitchen. I was sitting with Sara, whom I'd forced to sit directly across from George. She already knew my plan, so why be subtle? At the moment Fred, George and Charlie were all talking spiritedly about the World Cup, with Sara and I listening intently.<p>

"It's got to be Ireland." said Charlie thickly through a mouth of potato. "They flattened Peru in the semifinals."

"Bulgaria has got Viktor Krum, though." said Fred. Sara, who'd been an Ireland fan for most of her life, snorted indignantly. Fred Raised an eyebrow in her direction. "Oh, does the female Keeper have something to say?" George shot him a look, making him grin. "What? I'm only teasing her."

I silently begged him to shut up. Sara glared at him. "Krum's all of _one _decent player. Ireland's got _seven_." She said shortly.

Charlie nodded in agreement. "I wish England had got through. That was embarrassing, that was."

"What happened?" said Harry eagerly.

"Went down to Transylvania, three hundred and ninety to ten," said Charlie gloomily. "Shocking performance. And Wales lost to Uganda, and Scotland was slaughtered by Luxembourg."

Mrs. Weasley had conjured up candles to light the darkening garden, and it seemed that she had also pulled out the radio as well. Celestina Warbeck was currently singing, and I winced slightly before standing up and walking to where it was floating. "Come on Mrs. Weasley. If we're going to listen to music, you might as well indulge the younger generation. No offense meant of course, but we have different tastes in music you see." I said lightly as I fiddled with the dials. After a moment a song by Cher came on. I smiled and walked back over to my seat.

Mrs. Weasley was smiling in amusement, while her husband was frowning as he listened. "I've never heard this witch before. Is she new?"

At this Sara, Hermione, and I burst out laughing, even Harry sniggered. "This is a muggle station Mr. Weasley." he explained.

"Really now?" the balding man asked, perking up a bit.

I was about to say something when the song changed to one by Lionel Richie, making Sara and I gasp. It was a mutual favorite. She stood up and I backed away to a clear area of grass. She joined me there and grinned. "Who gets to lead?"

I smirked. "By your leave, good sir." I said.

She glared lightly. "Oh you're a selfish jerk." She said, placing a hand on my waist as I grabbed her other hand.

* * *

><p>I'm sure that I was thinking the same thing as everyone when they took up the pose, and that was that I had no clue what was going on. I knew the song playing was called dancing on the ceiling. and that was it.<p>

We all watched as the pair of them did several fast paced moves, and grinned madly. Around two and a half minutes later when the song changed again, they were a little out of breath, and I was just impressed. I, along with several of the Weasleys clapped. This caused the pair of them to grin cheekily and bow.

Lyra looked at Ron smugly. "What was that about dancing not being a sport? Cha cha cha." she punctuated each 'cha' with a twitch of her hips. "Once again, I'd love to see _you_ try it."

* * *

><p>It felt like I had only just laid down to sleep before Sara was shaking me awake. "What, what?" I groaned, rolling over.<p>

"Mrs. Weasley said we need to wake up." She said, poking me in the side. "It's time to leave."

Groggily, I sat up and realized that I was the only one who hadn't gotten up yet. Ginny and Hermione weren't even in the room. "How long were you trying to wake me up for?"

"A solid five minutes, now come _on_. I don't want to miss Mrs. Weasley's cooking. She's really good at it."

"Eloquently put. And she's had seven children to practice on." I pointed out, clambering out of the bed and towards the door to follow her.

* * *

><p>I glared at the mirror as I stood in front of it. My father's grey eyes glared back at me. But they were my eyes. And one of them was blackened. Looking down, I unscrewed the small jar of bruise paste and used it to clear up the injury. The pungent odor of the Arnica root oils it was made from caused me to grimace as I dabbed it on.<p>

Leaving it on and keeping my left eye shut, I went and plopped rather ungracefully onto my bed.

I hated him. I hated him so very much. How was it my fault that Lyra and Granger were smarter than I was? I was still one of the top three in my class. And it wasn't for lack of trying. I just wasn't going to do double my homework requirements. Not because I was lazy, but because it wouldn't matter. They would still beat me. Well, maybe not in potions, not after Lyra's behavior towards Snape. But that didn't matter to him, oh no, it was unacceptable that his precious son was being beaten by a filthy mudblood and a half-blood. Embarrassing is what it was. No Malfoy should ever be anything but on the top of anything.

My silent rant was interrupted as Blaise walked into the room. "Don't you think the peacocks out front are a _bit_ much?" He chuckled, politely ignoring my eye.

I smirked. "Mother does love them." I said. "But you're probably right. At least we don't have a bird bath like that man down the way."

He shrugged and sat down in the armchair. "So guess who I spotted this morning?" He said idly. I raised an eyebrow. "A bunch of American teenagers setting up their tents."

"And the reason this is interesting is what now?"

He smirked. "One girl was tying a spangled banner between the two tents, and the thing said 'Salem Witches' Institute for Magical Learning'."

I grinned. "Lyra's friends?"

He shrugged. "I didn't ask. I came back here to get you"

"Once this stuff dries." I said, again cursing the man who gave it to me.

"Why not just have your mother fix it up for you?" He asked carefully.

I looked up at the different shades of green silk that made up the striped ceiling of my 'room'. "I don't want to upset her. She hates seeing me hurt. Besides this stuff doesn't take long to work."

"So your welcome then, for the root paste." I nodded.

Somewhere between fifteen and twenty minutes later, the pair of us were leaving the tent. I frowned and checked my watch. "I hadn't realized that it was so early. If they're here from out of the country, don't you think that they'd be better of getting here a day or so before the Cup rather than the day of?"

Blaise shrugged. "How should I know? And maybe because they knew Lyra and Sara weren't going to be here until today."

"You know, I still haven't met her."

He frowned. "I thought she was pretty cool, cute too, but Lyra stonewalled me the second I tried to flirt. I don't know what her problem was."

I rolled my eyes. "Did you forget? She's setting her up with one of the Weasels."

"Oh, well, that would explain it wouldn't it?" He turned a corner around a vibrantly orange tent and I spotted the set of tents he had mentioned. The banner was a bit hard to miss. Without hesitation, Blaise sauntered over, an easy smile on his face. I walked a bit behind him, not as comfortable as he was. "Hey." He said, walking up to one of the guys of the group. He looked hispanic. Remembering the photo Lyra had shown us, I think that this one was named Matt or something.

He raised an eyebrow at Blaise. "Can I help you?" He said, frowning.

Blaise didn't falter. "You're one of Lyra's friends, right? I'm Blaise Zabini, I'm in Slytherin with her."

The second he said her name, everyone within earshot perked up. The hispanic kid smiled. "You know Lyra?" One of the girls walked over, I couldn't remember her name, though I know Lyra told us, she'd said all their names.

Blaise nodded. "I was hanging out with her and Sara last week."

I frowned. "You didn't tell me that." I said, a bit offended that I hadn't been invited. I still hadn't met Sara yet.

Blaise shrugged. "I didn't think it mattered. I never asked how often you hang out with her, though I know it's more than I do."

"Not that often." I grumbled. "You honestly think I want her anywhere _near_ the manor when my father's around? I'm not stupid you know."

He threw me a sympathetic look, before talking to the Americans again. "So what're your names?"

The hispanic grinned and Held out a hand. "I'm Max," He pointed to the guy standing beside him and the girl who'd walked over. "This is Jarred and Emma."

"Nice to meet you."

Emma frowned at me. "You still haven't told us your name."

"Draco." I said shortly. Yeah, I wasn't comfortable with this. I didn't know how to act towards them.

Her face lit up. "As in Draco Malfoy?" Oh Merlin, not this. "Lyra's told us all about you!" Oh, so not that.

I grinned unsurely. "Nothing bad I hope."

"Oh no, it was all terrible, my friends all think you're a self centered prat without a soul." declared a heavily sarcastic voice behind me.

Several of her friends shouted to her and Sara, who was evidently with her. As the others ran over, I turned around to see her standing behind me in black pinstriped shorts and a green t-shirt that said 'kiss me, I'm Irish'. Next to her was a girl who couldn't have been more her opposite. Lyra's hair was long and black with loose, wavy curls; this girl's hair was honey blond, barely longer than chin-length, and in tight, bouncy ringlets. I was taller than Lyra by a good four or five inches; this girl Sara, was barely an inch shorter than me. Lyra's eyes were almond shaped and possessing a shocking green; Sara's were rounder holding bright cerulean blue. Lyra was shrewd with a sarcastic personality; Sara gave the impression of a personality that matched her hair, bright and bouncy. _How_ had these two become best friends?

The two girls hugged their friends, greeting them with smiles and 'I missed you's. once she was done being passed around, Lyra grinned at Blaise and I. "So what're you two doing here? I mean, I knew you would be at the Cup, but what're you doing with my Salem friends?"

"Blaise found them, we thought we'd come say hello." I said, shrugging.

"Lyra you told us about Draco, but you never mentioned how cute he was." Said one of the girls, grinning cheekily.

I scoffed mockingly. "Malfoy men are _not_ cute, we are dignified, attractive people." I said loftily.

This made Lyra chuckle. "Ignore him." she said. "He only acts like a ponce, at heart he's just a big softie."

"That's a lie and we both know it." I snapped, albeit a bit petulantly. I was _not_ a softie.

She just chuckled and ruffled my hair affectionately. "Moving on." She stepped back a bit to push the blond girl in front of her. "Sara, this is Draco, Draco, this is my best friend Sara."

She smiled and held out her hand. "Nice to finally meet you." she said.

I nodded, shaking her hand. "You as well."

* * *

><p>It was nice to see my friends again, and within minutes, we had all settled into one of the tents and an animated conversation. Sara and I were practically interrogated on life in the United Kingdom for the better part of an hour, before Draco and Blaise were similarly questioned on everything about themselves. As I already knew the answers to most of the things discussed , I sat back quietly and smiled, grateful that they had been so easily accepted. Blaise had been a given, considering that he could probably charm the horn off of a Unicorn if he put his mind to it. But Draco, for all his charm and looks, was still an abrasive person if prodded too much. My friends had discovered this early on when they'd asked about his family. It hadn't put them off in the slightest however, and he'd easily been accepted. But even as I sat back and watched him chuckle and smirk and talk with my old schoolmates, I noticed that he was acting strange. The expected first-meetings awkwardness had passed hours ago, but he was still acting... different.<p>

When the inevitable happened, and the talk slipped into the subject of Quidditch, I excused myself. As I walked towards the mouth of the tent, I tapped Draco on the shoulder and motioned for him to follow me.

Seeming a bit confused, he followed me, though I didn't speak until we were on the opposite side of the tent, and out of earshot. I leaned against a table and frowned at him.

"Are you okay?" I asked seriously.

He seemed a bit startled by my question. "Why wouldn't I be?"

I shook my head. "You're deflecting. Answer my question. You've been acting strange all day." I said, my voice low but gentle.

He looked down and to the right as he ran his hand through his hair. He was about to lie. "I'm fine. Just a bit tired. I haven't been sleeping well lately." He said, putting his hand down, but not before making sure his hair was laying flat.

I ignored him and focused on something I hadn't noticed before. Narrowing my eyes, I pushed away from the table, brazenly reaching for his face. He froze in shock as I brushed his bangs away from his left eye. I suddenly felt my concern intensify. There was a violently purple and black sliver of a bruise near the upper corner of his eye, contrasting sharply with his pale complexion. Whatever it was from could have taken out his eye. I ghosted my finger over it, and he winced, his grey eyes widening with something akin to panic. "What happened?" I asked softly.

He looked away, pulling back from my touch. "It's nothing."

"You're not a very good liar, considering that you're a Slytherin."

The edge of his mouth twitched up into a small smirk. "Only around you."

I would have blushed if I wasn't worried. "Tell me what happened." I pleaded quietly.

"Nothing for you to worry about."

"You're deflecting again."

He suddenly seemed a bit angry. "So what if I am, Lyra? It's not your business, so why should you care?"

My pride stung a bit. "I'm your friend, Dragon, and I care about you."

His eyes hardened. "Blaise is my best friend and he's not half as nosey as you."

I rolled my eyes. "He's known you since childhood, most of the time he doesn't have to ask. I don't know you as well as that, so I do have to ask. And I'm worried about you."

"Well, don't be." He snapped. "You're not my mother, you're not my girlfriend, you're not even my best friend. You don't _need_ to worry about me."

I looked at him sadly before sighing and putting my hands in my pockets, turning away from him. "I suppose you're right." I said, mostly to myself, and left the tent. The others still seemed to wrapped up in their conversation to even notice our little chat.

I hard the tent flaps rustle as he followed me. "Lyra - wait." He sounded deflated, and although I stopped walking away, I didn't turn around. "I'm sorry, that was... mean." I stiffened as he hugged me from behind, his arms wrapping themselves firmly around my waist. "I'll admit, I'm not... fine, but I will be once we get back to Hogwarts. It's a personal matter, which I'd much rather you stayed out of. Please respect that." He murmured, so close to me that he needn't speak any louder.

Regardless of my stung feelings, I blushed at the proximity. He was so _warm_. Despite the fact that it was still August, it was one of the cooler days, a prelude to the rain that would no doubt come in a day or so. I could feel every inch of him that he'd pressed against me. And I was fully aware of the cheek he'd rested on my head. Stamping down on my blush, I detangled myself from his arms and sighed. "You could have just said that. You didn't have to lie, much less get nasty with me." I said halfway turning back to him, though I didn't smile.

He reached forward and grabbed my hand, his grey eyes bored into my with their sincerity. "I know, I'm sorry." His hand was slightly callused, most likely due to playing Quidditch, but it was still soft somehow, I forced myself to ignore this.

"I'm going to go find my brother. If anyone asks, I'll be back in a little while." I said, pulling my hand from his and walking away.

When I looked back as I was walking away, I saw that he was still watching me as I left, a sad kind of frown on his aristocratic features. After I looked away again, I forced myself not to look back again. Even if he'd apologized, it didn't change what he'd said, or that it'd hurt. I was proud of myself though, if this had been last year, then I would have bit his head off and caused a scene.

* * *

><p>I walked back into the tent and sat down with a huff. The Americans didn't seem to notice that much, as they were all engaged in a loud 'conversation' about which team was better, Ireland or Bulgaria. Blaise noticed me though. He leaned over towards me. "What happened? You and Lyra got up and just left."<p>

"I screwed up again."

"Bloody hell mate, it's barely been an day."

I scowled. "I know. But she wanted to know if I was okay, and halfway through questioning me, she saw my eye."

His eyebrows shot up. "How? It's gone now."

I pushed my bangs out of the way, briefly, like she had. "I missed a spot. And then I wound up snapping at her, for being nosey."

"Did you at least apologize?"

"Yes." I said dejectedly. "But it barely helped, considering what I'd said."

"Do I want to know?"

"You really don't."

"Bloody hell." He sighed. He was quiet a minute before finally speaking again. "You might want to think about telling her. She cares about you, more than either of you want to admit."

"I don't want her getting in the middle of it. If I get my way, she'll never have to so much as speak to my father, much less confront him about..." I grit my teeth.

"But do you really want to deal with the backfire when she finds out anyway? Because if you keep letting her in the way you have been, she will figure it out. Maybe not figure it out exactly, but she'll guess. Lyra's not an idiot you know."

"What's the worst that could happen?" I said, trying to shrug it off.

"Please tell me you did _not_ just say that. She'll be in a right state Drake, angry at you for not telling her, sad because you didn't trust her, mistrusting because you deceived her, I could go on you know, I really could." He hissed at me.

"Yeah yeah, I get it... I'll think about it alright?"

* * *

><p>By the time I arrived back at the tent, the sun was setting and darkness was spreading like a curtain. Ministry officials were no longer milling about in a near panicked frenzy, bowing too the inevitable and blatant signs of wizardry that were cropping up. Silently, I pitied the muggle who was in charge of these typically muggle camping grounds. He was likely to end up with some form of brain damage from all the memory charms he was going to need to be kept happy.<p>

Salesmen were apparating every few feet, carrying trays and pushing carts full of extraordinary merchandise. There were luminous rosettes - green for Ireland, red for Bulgaria - squealing the names of the players, pointed green hats with dancing shamrocks, Bulgarian scarves that were adorned with lions that really roared, flags from both countries that played their national anthems when they were waved; there were tiny models of Firebolts that really flew, collectable figures of famous players, which strolled across the palm of your hand, preening themselves.

I saw Ron, Harry, and Hermione starting to walk away from the Weasleys' tent, and I ran to catch up with them. "Hey!" I shouted, smiling brightly and shoving aside the twisting emotions that Draco had caused.

"Hey Lyra, where's Sara?" Harry asked, slightly confused by her lack of presence.

I shrugged. "With our Salem friends, but they'll be up in the Top Box with us, so we'll see them later."

"How did _all_ of them afford seats like that?" Ron asked, a bit indignantly.

"They didn't." I said, remembering that I hadn't told them about this. "World Cup tickets are the the prize for winning the inter school Quidditch tournament in America. All four schools compete, and this year Salem won."

"Oh." He said, placated.

"So all your friends are on the Salem team?" Harry asked, intrigued.

I nodded. "There are several student-run teams at my school, and my friends all play for the Witch Trials team. They're the ones who won. Sara was their keeper, and that's how she got her ticket as well." Shifting to another topic, I grinned. "They're all really excited to meet the three of you though, especially you, Harry, since you're my brother."

"Brilliant, we cant wait."

And with that, we turned back to the festivities, strolling through the salesmen, buying souvenirs as we went. I knew that Sara would have forgotten about buying trinkets, as she tended to forget many other things, so I bought them for her. I got a green rosette which continually shouted the names of Ireland's chasers, Troy, Mullet, and Moran; she'd had a crush on Moran for at least two years now. Ron bought one as well, to go with his dancing shamrock hat. He also bought a miniature Krum, who scowled at his owner's green accessories. For myself, I got a green silk scarf with shamrocks hidden throughout the gold celtic knots adorning it, and a black sweatshirt with the Irish flag across it.

"Wow, look at these!" Said Harry, hurrying over to a cart piled high with what looked like brass binoculars, except they were covered with all sorts of weird knobs and dials.

"Omnioculars," said the saleswizard eagerly. "You can replay action... slow everything down... and they flash up a play-by-play breakdown if you need it. Bargain - ten Galleons each, only thirty if you buy five."

"Wish I hadn't bought this now." said Ron, gesturing at his dancing hat, and gazing longingly at the Omnioculars.

Harry and I exchanged glances, and then looked back at the saleswizard. "Five pairs." I said firmly.

"No - don't bother." said Ron going red, as Harry counted out the coins. My brother had once told me that Ron was always touchy about the fact that we, whom had inherited a small fortune from our parents, had much more money than he did.

"You won't be getting anything for Christmas." Harry told him, shoving the Omnioculars into his and Hermione's hands. "For about ten years, mind."

"Fair enough." said Ron, grinning. "Who's the fifth pair for though? Or was that just for the bargain."

I grinned as I pocketed it. "Sara is notorious for forgetting this sort of thing. Besides I didn't really get her anything tangible for her birthday."

With our money bags considerably lighter, we went back to the tents. Bill, Charlie, and Ginny were all sporting green rosettes too, and Mr Weasley was carrying an Irish flag. Fred and George had nothing. I raised an eyebrow at them.

"You boys not a fan of paraphernalia?" I asked.

Fred grinned evilly. "We made a bet with-"

"I suddenly would prefer not to know." I said frowning in a way that made the ginger twins roar with laughter.

And then a deep, booming gong sounded somewhere beyond the woods, and at once, green and red lanterns blazed to life in the trees, lighting the path to the field. "It's time!" said Mr. Weasley, looking as excited as any of us. "Come on, let's go!"

Clutching our purchases, Mr. Weasley in the lead, we all hurried into the woods, following the lantern-lit trail. We could hear the sounds of thousands of people moving around us, shouts and laughter, snatches of singing. The atmosphere of feverish excitement was infectious and intoxicating; I couldn't stop grinning, and more than once I burst into fits of giggling as we practically ran to the Quidditch field. But even walking as quickly as we were, it was twenty minutes through the woods, full of joking and laughing, until we reached the other side and found ourselves in the shadow of a gigantic stadium. Though I could only see a fraction of the immense gold walls surrounding the field, I could tell that ten cathedrals could have easily fit within it.

"Seats a hundred thousand." said Mr. Weasley, spotting the awestruck faces my brother and I wore. "Ministry task force of five hundred have been working on it all year. Muggle Repelling Charms on every inch of it. Every time Muggles have got anywhere near here all year, they've suddenly remembered urgent appointments and had to dash away again... bless them." He added fondly, leading the way towards the nearest entrance, which was already surrounded by a swarm of shouting witches and wizards.

"Prime seats!" said the Ministry witch at the entrance when she checked our tickets. "Top Box! Straight upstairs, Arthur, and as high as you can go. Though I should warn you you'll be sitting with a rabble of American teenagers."

"Hey!" I shouted indignantly, "I'll have you know that _rabble _are members of the top school Quidditch team in their country! And they've earned those seats!"

"Lyra, ignore her, don't get your knickers in a twist over nothing." Harry muttered in my ear, pushing me along after the Weasleys. "It's not worth it, and you're blocking traffic."

Huffing, I continued up the stairs. My fouled mood was quickly replaced by the intoxication of excitement and adrenalin that was running through the air.

As we all climbed, the crowd slowly filtered away through doors and stands to the left and right, so Harry and I were eventually able to recover the distance between us and the Weasleys which had been caused by my tantrum. And then at last we found ourselves at the top of the stairs, in a small box, set at the highest point in the stadium, situated exactly halfway between the golden goal posts. About thirty purple-and-gilt chairs stood in two rows here, ten of which were currently occupied by what was indeed, an excited rabble of (mostly) American teenagers.

Grinning widely, and dragging my brother behind me, I whistled to gain their attention. They all jumped and looked over in surprise. "Who said you guys could start having fun without me?" I admonished mockingly.

"There you are!" Nicole and Haley shouted at the same time, twisting around almost completely in their seats.

"We were starting to wonder." said Sara, who was looking at me upside down, as she clearly had no inclination to turn around. But the position she was in had it's downsides.

I cleared my throat. "Sara, darling, you're my best friend and all, but I have no desire to look down your cleavage. Sit up and turn around, and stop embarrassing yourself." She let out something very close to a shriek as she immediately did as instructed, and I pulled the things I'd bought for her out of the bundle I'd tucked under my arm. "And I was a bit busy buying you crap, because I _know_ you forgot your money."

Her embarrassed blush increased as she took the items. Her grin got wider if possible as she proudly pinned the rosette to her chest. "What're these?" she asked as she inspected the Omnioculars.

I was about to explain when Jarred interrupted. "Hey Lyra, is that kid behind you..." He trailed off and let the question hang. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Draco's grin falter a bit, and he turned around. The rest of my friends, minus Blaise, were now craning their necks to see past me.

Turning slightly, I saw that Harry was attempting to shield his bemused self from these strangers' scrutiny via hiding behind me. Which wasn't working since he was taller than me by a few inches. I beamed and shoved him in front of me. "Where's your courage gone, Gryffindor?" I said lowly to him. "Guys, _this_ is my brother, Harry."

I watched with amusement as he was swept up in greetings. The Weasleys were all taking their seats, and I snagged Ron and Hermione before they did as well, shoving them into the fray of introductions as well. After they had all calmed down a bit, I went and sat myself between Blaise and Draco, who'd very presumptuously left the seat between them vacant.

"Rather arrogant, don't you think?" I teased the blond, trying to get him to lighten up and ignore my brother and his friends. "For all that you knew, I might've chosen to sit with Sara or Harry."

He grinned in a very roguish way, I had to stamp down violently on the blush attempting to rise to my cheeks. "Of course it was arrogant, but would you have me any other way?"

I rolled my eyes at him and bumped his shoulder with my own. I turned to say something to Blaise, when I noticed who was sitting themselves behind us. I turned and smiled happily at the woman. "It's nice to see you, Narcissa, it's been a while."

She smiled warmly back at me. "You too, Lyra dear. Draco didn't say that you would be here."

I shrugged. "Yeah, well, he's a boy, so he doesn't think about things like this." I said, making her chuckle.

"Well, enjoy the match."

I turned back around to say something to Draco when I noticed that his smile was completely gone, and he was staring stonily forwards with his arms crossed firmly over his chest, and he was sinking in his seat, almost as if hiding from the man sitting behind him.

"Draco! Sit up straight, it's improper to slouch!" snapped Lucius Malfoy.

Draco slipped down into his seat further, shocking me with the anger that surfaced on his face. I shot an apologetic look at his father, and leaned over to his son. "What's wrong with you? You were fine ten seconds ago. Did you have a fight with your parents or something?" I said lowly.

"Yes." he said shortly.

I glanced back at his father, who was glaring at the back of his son's head, then back at Draco. "Forget about them Dragon, we're here to watch the Cup, and have fun. Just pretend they're not there, ok? Right now it's just you, your friends, and the match, ok?" I said gently, placing a kiss on his temple before sitting up straight again.

I didn't pay attention to if he sat up or not, instead nudging Blaise. "I need to talk to you later." I said.

He sighed. "Right."

* * *

><p>Lyra deciding that she needed to talk to Blaise so suddenly, could <em>not<em> be a good thing for me. But my brooding was interrupted by Ludo Bagman bursting into the box. "Everyone ready?" he said, his round face gleaming like a great, excited Edam. "Minister - ready to go?"

"Ready when you are, Ludo," Fudge said comfortably.

Ludo whipped out his wand, directed it at his own throat, and said "_Sonorus!" _ and then spoke over the roar of sound that was now filling the packed stadium; his voice echoed over us all, booming into every corner of the stands.

"Ladies and gentlemen... welcome! Welcome to he final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"

I felt my ire at my father's appearance melt away and my excitement rose along with the screaming and clapping of the other spectators. Thousands of flags waved, adding their discordant national anthems to the racket. The huge blackboard opposite us, which had been displaying adds for different products, was wiped clear of it's last message _(Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans - A Risk With Every Mouthful!)_ and now showed **Bulgaria: 0, Ireland: 0**.

"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce... the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!" The right hand side of the stands, which was a solid block of scarlet, roared it's approval.

"I wonder what they've brought." said Blaise, leaning forward in their seats.

I saw Lyra's face twist into a disdainful sneer. _"Veela_._"_ she said, irritation dripping off the word. Blaise seemed to know what they were, because he immediately got excited, but I, feeling slightly foolish, had to ask.

"What are veel-"

But a hundred veela were now gliding out onto the field, and my question was answered. Veela were women... the most beautiful women that I had ever seen... except that they weren't - they couldn't be - human. This puzzled me for a moment while I tried to guess what exactly they could be; what could make their skin shine moon-bright like that, or their white-gold hair fan out behind them without wind... but then the music started and I stopped worrying about them not being human - in fact I stopped worrying about everything at all, even when the root of my problems was seated behind me.

The veela had stared to dance, and my mind had gone completely blissfully blank. All that mattered was that I kept watching the veela, because if they stopped dancing, terrible things would happen...

And as the veela danced faster and faster, wild, half-formed thoughts started chasing through my dazed mind, and I felt my heart starting to race in my chest. I wanted to do something very impressive right now, to catch their attention. Maybe I could jump from the box and into the stadium, it seemed like a good idea... but would it be good enough for these incredible, beautiful creatures to notice me?

"Draco, what on earth are you doing?" said Lyra's voice from a long way off.

The music stopped. I blinked. I was standing up, and one of my legs was resting on the wall of the box. Blaise was frozen in an attitude that looked as though he were about to do a spring board. Looking around, I saw that many of the men in the box, the younger ones especially, all looked much the same.

Angry yells were filling the stadium. The crowd didn't want the veela to go. Blaise and I were with them; I would, of course, be supporting Bulgaria, and I wondered vaguely why I had a green shamrock pinned to my shirt. Blaise, meanwhile, was about to throw his rosette out into the stands in distaste. Lyra snatched it from him before he could.

"You'll be wanting that," she said. "once Ireland have had their say."

"Are you kidding me?" I asked incredulously, staring at the veela who had now lined up on one side of the field.

A strange expression crossed Lyra's face and she yanked Blaise and I back into our seats. _"Honestly_"she said irritably.

"Whats got your wand in a knot?" I asked. She suddenly blushed and busied herself by pulling her green and gold scarf through the loops on her shorts, making a tasseled belt of it, which she knotted on her hip. Blaise chuckled before she elbowed him harshly in the ribs, eliciting a quiet 'ow' from him.

"And now," roared Ludo Bagman's voice, "kindly put your wands in the air... for the Irish National Team Mascots!"

Next moment, what seemed to be a great green-and-gold comet came zooming into the stadium. It did one circuit of the stadium , then split into two smaller ones, each hurtling towards the goal posts. A rainbow arched suddenly across the field, connecting the two balls of light. The crowd oooohed and aaaahd, as though it were a fireworks display. Now the rainbow faded and the balls of light reunited and merged; they had formed a great shimmering shamrock, which rose up into the sky and began to soar over the stands. Something like golden rain seemed to be falling from it.

"Brilliant!" shouted Blaise as the shamrock soared over us, and heavy gold coins rained from it, bouncing off our heads and the seats. Squinting up at the shamrock, I realized it was actually comprised of thousands of tiny little bearded men with red vests, each carrying a minute lamp of gold or green.

"Leprechauns!" Lyra shouted over the thunderous applause of the crowd, handing back Blaise's rosette.

I grinned at her, and realized that she had put on her Ireland sweatshirt when I wasn't looking. It was a bit baggy and it almost completely covered her shorts. I blushed slightly as I realized that this had the effect of drawing attention to her legs. As she wasn't looking at me, I had the brief opportunity to just look at her. In the back of my mind, I wondered how I could have thought the veela more beautiful than this witch. She wasn't exotic, but she was- I shook my head. What on earth was I doing, Lyra was just my friend. Besides there was no way she'd ever-

Looking away, I saw the great shamrock dissolve and the leprechauns drifted down onto the field on the opposite side of the veela, and settled themselves cross legged to watch the match.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, kindly welcome - The Bulgarian National Quidditch Team! I give you - Dimitrov!"

A scarlet-clad figure on a broomstick, moving so fast it was blurred, shot out onto the field from an entrance far below, to wild applause from the Bulgarian supporters.

"Ivanova!"

A second scarlet-robed player zoomed out.

"Zograf! Leviski! Vulchanov! Aaaaaaaand - _Krum_!" Bagman paused as he waited for the crowd to cheer the team. "And now, please greet - the Irish National Quidditch Team! Presenting - Connolly! Ryan! Troy! Mullet! Moran! Quigley! Aaaaaaaand - _Lynch_!"

Seven green blurs swept onto the field, just as the top box seemed to explode with the combined cheers from the Weasleys, and Lyra's friends. Allowing myself to be swept up in the euphoria, I cheered as well. Proper pure-blood behavior be damned!

"And here, all the way from Egypt, our referee, acclaimed Chairwizard of the International Association of Quidditch, Hassan Mostafa!"

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><p><strong>R&amp;R! I love reviews people! Anonymous reviews are accepted! Please!<strong>


	23. World Cup pt2: Dark Mark

**Two good-sized chapters in one day! Do I make up for story neglect or what? Yeah, yeah, I know it's not a forgiven sin, but hey, what can you do? REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW. Please? :'**

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><p>"<em>Don't <em>tell your mother you've been gambling." Mr. Weasley implored Fred and George as we all made our way slowly down the purple-carpeted stairs.

"Don't worry, Dad," said Fred gleefully. "we've got big plans for this money. We don't want it confiscated." Mr. Weasley looked for a moment as though he was going to ask what these big plans were, but seemed to decide, upon reflection, that he didn't want to know.

I shook my head at the pair of twins, and fell into step beside my own. "Well, that was fun."

He beamed. "No kidding. And did you notice Krum when they all came into the top box?" I nodded. "He was a real mess. And if it weren't for those veela, Bulgaria would probably have been given a penalty."

I shrugged. "Not necessarily, head-shots aren't illegal."

He hummed, and then seemed to grow a bit frustrated. "Which reminds me, you know what really should be illegal?" I frowned in question. "You kissing Malfoy." He said, giving me a pointed and angry look.

I suddenly didn't have the energy to glare back. "Oh relax. He's just a friend. And I only did that to try and get him to chill out. He's apparently in a fight with his parents and they sat right behind us."

"I still don't like it." He grumbled, crossing his arms.

"You don't like anything involving my friendship with Draco." I pointed out. He shot me another glare. I rolled my eyes. "Anyway, did you notice Sara, when Ireland's chasers walked in?"

He chuckled. "I thought her head might spin off. But she went quiet when Ryan walked in."

I nodded. "She has a crush on Moran, although the one who gets the brunt of her hero worship is Barry Ryan, since they're both keepers. She idolizes him."

"Really?"

I nodded "Back in New york, her room is covered in Ireland posters, mostly of the chasers and Ryan. I swear, when I went over, I was wondering if she'd built a shrine."

Harry laughed. "She doesn't seem like the fangirl type."

I shook my head. "She's not, but she can be a tad obsessive." we both chuckled before continuing to walk in a comfortable silence.

We were soon caught up in the crowds now flooding out of the stadium and back to the campsites. Raucous singing was borne towards us on the night air as we retraced our steps along the lantern-lit path, and leprechauns kept shooting over our heads, cackling and waving their lanterns. when we finally reached the tents, nobody felt like sleeping at all, and given the level of noise around us, Mr. Weasley agreed that we could all have one last cup of cocoa before turning in. Sara and I had shared looks as he'd said this. Our friends didn't have chaperones. They would be staying up, we would not. Life, was not fair. But it was alright, we all had an enjoyable argument about the match; Mr. Weasley got drawn into a disagreement about cobbing, which I knew to be a type of foul involving elbowing, and it was not until Ginny fell asleep right at the tiny table and spilled hot chocolate all over the floor that Mr. Weasley called a halt to the verbal replays and insisted that everyone go to bed. Mr Weasley carried Ginny into the other room of the tent where we girls would be sleeping, with Hermione, Sara, and I following behind. As he tucked her in, we could still hear much singing and the odd echoing bang.

"Oh, I am glad that I'm not on duty." muttered Mr. Weasley sleepily as he started leaving to the boys' side. "I wouldn't fancy having to go and tell the Irish they've got to stop celebrating."

I chuckled thickly as he left. The three of us then changed into our pajamas. I almost snickered at Hermione's night gown, but I restrained myself as I pulled my old t-shirt on. I stuffed my sweatshirt and other cloths into my small bag, Sara handed me her things as well, along with the souvenirs so that I could pack them away as well. There wasn't that much stuff in the bag, but there was plenty of room, owing to the charm on the bag. It had been a present from my foster family a few years ago, after I'd complained incessantly during the christmas ski trip about clunky suitcases. It was a small drawstring backpack with an undetectable extension charm. Sara and I had both used it to bring changes of cloths for tonight and tomorrow.

I yawned out a 'goodnight' as Hermione blew out the oil lamp.

I was on the top bunk, above Ginny, and although I was tired, I couldn't make myself sleep. So I lay awake and stared up at the canvas ceiling of the tent, watching the glow of an occasional leprechaun lantern flying overhead, and thinking over the events of the night. Well, thinking about the ones involving Draco anyway. I was still mad at myself for that stunt earlier. Why had I gotten so mad when Draco had been effected by the veela? I knew that they did that, it was part of why I'd always found the Bulgarian mascots obnoxious. But there was no reason for me to feel, well, jealous of their effect on him. It wasn't like he was my boyfriend, and besides, had it been the other way around, he probably would have just thought I was being an idiot.

Eventually, I pushed these things aside and rolled onto my stomach, burying my face in my pillow and trying to sleep. And It seemed that I had only just shut my eyes when Someone as shouting at me and shaking me back into wakefulness.

"Get up! Lyra - Hermione - come on now, get up, get up!"

My attempt to sit up landed me on the floor.

"Ow..." I groaned.

Dimly, I could tell that something was wrong. The noises in the campsite had changed. The singing had stopped. I could hear screams, and the sounds of people running. I sat up from the floor and rubbed my eyes. Mr. Weasley was in the room, shaking Sara awake. Ginny reached for her cloths, and her father shook her head. "No time, just grab a jacket and get outside - quickly!"

Sara and I both had our jackets stuffed into my bag somewhere, so there was nothing for us, and we simply snatched up our wands and ran out. The difference in temperature assaulted my skin, and I suddenly cursed my favorite sleep wear. Harry and the boys were already outside

By the light of the few fires that were still burning, I could see people running away into the woods, fleeing something that was moving across the field towards them, something that was emitting odd flashes of light and noises like gunfire. Loud jeering, roars of laughter, and drunken yells were drifting towards us; then came a burst of sickening green light that illuminated the scene.

A large crowd of wizards, tightly packed and moving together with wands pointing straight upward, was marching slowly across the field. I squinted at them... They didn't seem to have faces... Then I realized that their heads were hooded and they wore masks.

"That's sick." I heard Ron mutter, as he looked up, and I realized with horror, that there were people being levitated above the congregation. One small child was being spun like a top, sixty feet above the ground, his head flopping limply from side to side in a way that made me fear he might be dead. "That's really sick..." Ron said again, and my twisting stomach agreed.

"We're going to help the Ministry!" shouted Mr. Weasley over the noise, hurrying out of the tent with Bill, Charlie, and Percy, all of them fully dressed, with their sleeves rolled up. "You lot - get into the woods, and _stick together_. I'll come fetch you when we've sorted this out!"

Bill, Charlie, and Percy were already sprinting away towards the oncoming marchers; Mr. Weasley tore after them. Ministry wizards were dashing from every direction towards the source of the trouble. The disguised crowd was coming ever closer.

"C'mon," said Fred, grabbing Ginny's hand and starting to pull her towards the wood. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I followed, it was not until George shouted at her that I realized that Sara was rooted to the spot, horrified at what she was seeing. I ran back to get her.

The second ginger twin reached her before I did though, grabbing her hand and dragging her along. She seemed to snap out of it, and as she ran to catch up with us, I could see her face gleaming with tears.

The colored lanterns that had lit the path to the stadium had been extinguished. Dark figures were blundering through the trees; children were crying; anxious shouts and panicked voices were reverberating around us in the cold night air. I could feel myself being pushed about by people who's faces I could not see, and eventually I lost track of my friends and my brother. I heard someone yell with pain, but I couldn't pinpoint them, I kept running. It wasn't until I saw a swatch of white blond that practically glowed in the dark, that I allowed myself to stop running. I shoved through the people still running towards where Draco was. He was alone, and leaning against a tree, his arms crossed, and his face set in a very forced, neutral expression.

"Dragon!" I gasped, feeling tears spring to my eyes, fear beginning to get to me. "Thank Circe!"

"Bloody hell!" He said, stepping forward as he saw me. He hugged me around my waist. "I was worried about you."

I pulled away from him to stare at him in the dark. "What?" was all I could manage in my frantic state.

"Your brother and his two sidekicks showed up. The ginger fool tripped over his own feet practically right in front of me. When I saw you weren't with them, I-" He cut himself off. "Look, you should probably get back to them, they ran off that way a minute ago," He pointed, and I stared at him in mild panic.

"What about you?"

"I'll be fine, _go_. And when you catch up with them, make sure they did like I said and keep that Mudblood out of sight, or she'll be flying too."

Confused, I let him shove me in the direction he'd indicated. When I turned to see him again, he'd vanished. It didn't take long before I found the three of them, but Fred, George, Sara, and Ginny were nowhere to be seen. Harry was searching his pockets for something and Ron and Hermione had their wands out, light shining from their tips.

"Ah, no... I don't believe it, I've lost my wand!" Harry was saying.

"You're kidding!"

Ron and Hermione raised their wands high enough to spread the narrow beams of light farther onto the ground. They spotted me.

"Lyra!" Harry said in relief. "We thought we'd lost you!"

"You lost your wand?" I said, ignoring his comment, I looked at the illuminated ground and lit my own wand.

"Maybe it's back in the tent," said Ron.

"Maybe it fell out of your pocket while you were running?" Hermione suggested anxiously.

"Yeah, maybe..." said Harry

A rustling noise nearby made all four of us jump. A house elf was fighting her way out of a clump of bushes. She was moving in a most peculiar fashion, apparently with great difficulty; it was as though someone invisible were trying to hold her back. "There is bad wizards about!" she squeaked distractedly as she leaned forward and labored to keep running. "People high - high in the air! Winky is getting out of the way!"

And Winky disappeared into the trees on the other side of the path, squeaking as she fought the force that was restraining her.

"What's up with her?" said Ron, looking curiously after the elf. "Why can't she run properly?"

"Bet she didn't ask permission to hide." said Harry.

"You know, House elves get a _very_ raw deal/1 said Hermione indignantly. "It's slavery, that's what it is! That Mr Crouch made her go up to the top of the stadium, and she was terrified, and he's got her bewitched so she can't even run away when they start trampling tents! Why doesn't anyone _do_ anything about it?" Briefly, I wondered what she was talking about, I'd seen o elf in the stands during the match, but then, I'd been occupied.

"Well, the elves are happy aren't they?" Ron said. "You heard old Winky back at the match... ' House elves is not supposed to have fun'... that's what she likes, being bossed around..."

"It's people like _you,_ Ronald," Hermione began hotly. "who prop up rotten and unjust systems, just because they're too lazy to-"

Another loud bang echoed from the edge of the wood.

"Look Hermione, this is all very interesting, I'm sure, but let's discuss it another time and just keep moving, shall we?" I said, and I saw Harry and Ron glance edgily at Hermione, reminding me of what Draco had said. And it suddenly hit me that the people we'd seen being levitated were probably muggles and muggleborns. Hermione _was _ in danger.

We set off again, following the dark path deeper into the wood, looking for Fred, George, and the girls. We passed a group of goblins who were cackling over a large sack of gold they'd undoubtably won betting on the match, and who seemed quite unperturbed by the trouble at the campsite. Farther still along the path, we walked into a patch of silvery light, and when we looked through the trees, we saw three tall and beautiful veela in a clearing, surrounded by a gaggle of young wizards, all of whom were talking very loudly.

"I pull down about a hundred sacks of Galleons a year!" one of them shouted. "I'm a dragon killer for the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures."

"No you're not!" yelled his friend. "You're a dishwasher at the Leaky Cauldron... But i'm a vampire hunter, I've killed about ninety so far-"

A third young wizard, who's pimples were visible even by the dim, silvery light of the veela, now cut in. "I'm about to become the youngest ever Minister of Magic, I am."

Harry snorted with laughter, and in the next second, Ron was yelling, "Did I tell you that I've invented a broomstick that can reach Jupiter?"

_"Oh, honestly!"_ said a rather red-faced Hermione, and she and Harry grabbed Ron firmly by the arms, wheeled him around, and marched him away, I followed behind him, feeling irritation at the veela resurface. By the time the sounds of them and their admirers had faded away completely, the four of us were in the very heart of the wood. We seemed to be alone now; everything was much quieter.

Harry looked around. "I reckon we can just wait here, you know. We'll here anyone coming from a long way off." The words were barely out of his mouth, when Ludo Bagman emerged from behind a tree right ahead of us.

Even by the feeble light of our three wands, I could see that a great change had come over Bagman. He no longer looked like the buoyant and rosy-faced man who'd commented the Cup. There was no more spring in his step either. He looked very white and strained. "Who's that?" he said, blinking down at us, trying to make out our faces. "What're you four doing in here, all alone?"

We looked at one another, surprised. "Well - there's sort of a riot going on." said Ron.

Bagman stared at us. "What?"

"At the campsite... some people have got a hold of a family of muggles..."

Bagman swore loudly. "Damn them!" he said, looking quite distracted, and without another word, he Disapparated with a small _pop_!

"Not exactly on top of things, Mr Bagman, is he?" I said dryly.

"He was a great Beater, though," said Ron, leading the way off the path and into a small clearing, sitting down on a patch of dry grass at the foot of a tree. "The Wimbourne Wasps won the league three times in a row while he was with them." _Of _course_ Ron would know that._

He took out his small figure of Krum, set it down and watched it walk around. I rolled my eyes and leaned against the tree, rubbing my hands on my arms, I really was cold. Harry noticed this and handed me his jacket. I smiled gratefully at him, tugging it on.

"I hope the others are okay." said Hermione after a while.

"They'll be fine." said Ron.

"Imagine if your dad catches Lucius Malfoy." said Harry, sitting down next to Ron. "He's always said he'd like to get something on him."

"That'd wipe the smirk off of old Draco's face, all right." said Ron smugly.

I frowned in confusion. "What on earth are you talking about?"

Ron snorted. "Oh come on Lyra, those men were attacking _muggles_, and in case you'd forgotten, Malfoy's dad is one of the biggest pureblood bigots around. I'd bet anything that Draco's Mummy and Daddy are part of those masked freaks."

I glared at him. "Narcissa would never-"

I broke off abruptly and looked over my shoulder. The other three looked around too. It sounded as though someone was staggering towards their clearing. We waited, listening to the sounds of the uneven footsteps behind the dark trees. But the footsteps came to a sudden halt.

"Hello?" called Harry, standing up slowly and peering around the tree. I walked to stand next to him. It was too dark to see very far, but I could feel that someone was standing just beyond our field of vision. I morphed and sniffed at the air. I could smell the four of us, and someone I didn't recognized. I nervously wrapped my tail around Harry's ankle. "Who's there?" he said.

And then, without warning, the silence was rent by a voice unlike any I'd ever heard in the wood; and it uttered, not a panicked shout, but what sounded like a spell. _"MORSMORDRE!" _And something vast, green, and glittering erupted from the patch of darkness our eyes had been straining to see into. It flew up into the sky over the treetops, and when I saw the shape it took, I froze, feeling like the bottom had dropped out of my stomach, and my insides turned to ice.

"What the -?" gasped Ron as he sprang to his feet, staring up at the thing that had appeared.

It was a sickening symbol which I'd thought, _hoped_, I'd only ever have to see in old newspapers and recent history books. A colossal skull, comprised of what looked like emerald stars, with a serpent protruding from it's mouth like a kind of hideous tongue. As we watched, it rose higher and higher, blazing in a haze of greenish smoke, etched against the black sky like a new constellation.

Suddenly, the wood all around us erupted with screams, caused no doubt, by the appearance of the skull, which had now risen high enough to illuminate the entire wood like some grisly neon sign. I couldn't move, I stared up at the thing, rooted to the spot by a kind of all-encompassing fear and horror.

"Who's there?" Harry called again. As if the person would ever answer, after conjuring _that_.

"Harry, come on, _move_!" said Hermione. I heard the sound of stumbling feet.

"What's the matter?" my brother asked, through my oddly foggy mind, I wondered how he could possibly _not_ know what that was. He, of all people.

"It's the Dark Mark, Harry!" Hermione moaned, I vaguely noted that all of their voices sounded far-off. Muffled almost. "You-Know-Who's sign!"

_"Voldemort's -?"_

"Harry, come _on_!"

There was the brief sound of rushing feet, but it stopped as a series of popping sounds announced the arrival of wizards apparating to this spot. I wasn't paying much attention to it though, my mind was foggy and cluttered and racing. All my nightmares, all my horrid memories, the screams, the masks, the green light, a crying infant, a pale snake-like face; it all whirled around and around and around.

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><p>I whirled around, and in an instant, registered one fact: Each one of these wizards had his wand out, and every wand was pointing right at the four of us. Without pausing to think, I yelled. "DUCK!" I seized Ron and Hermione and pulled them down to the ground.<p>

_"STUPEFY!" _roared twenty voices - there was a blinding series of flashes and I felt the hair on my head ripple as though a powerful wind had swept the clearing. Raising my head a fraction of an inch, I saw jets of fiery red light flying over us from the wizards' wands, crossing one another, bouncing off tree trunks, rebounding into the darkness -

"Stop!" yelled a familiar voice. "STOP!_ That's my son!_"

My hair stopped blowing about, and I raised my head a little higher. The wizard in front of me had lowered his wand, I rolled over and saw Mr. Weasley striding towards us, looking terrified.

"Ron - Harry -" his voice was shaky. "- Hermione - are you alright?"

"Out of my way, Arthur," said a cold, curt voice. It was Mr. Crouch. He and the other Ministry Wizards were closing in on us, I got to my feet to face them. Mr. Crouch's face was taut with rage. "Which of you did it?" he snapped, his sharp eyes darting between us. "Which of you conjured the Dark Mark?"

"We didn't do that!" I said, gesturing up at the skull.

"We didn't do anything!" said Ron, who was rubbing his elbow and looking indignantly at his father. "What did you want to attack us for?"

"Do not lie, sir!" shouted Mr Crouch. His wand was still pointing directly at Ron, and his eyes were popping - he looked slightly mad. "You've been discovered at the scene of the crime!"

"Barty," whispered a witch in a long woolen dressing gown. "they're kids, Barty, they'd never have been able to-"

"Where did the Mark come from, you three?" said Mr. Weasley quickly.

"Over there," said Hermione shakily, pointing at the place where we had heard the voice. "There was someone behind the trees... they shouted words - an incantation -"

"Oh, stood over there, did they?" said Mr. Crouch, turning his popping eyes on Hermione now, disbelief etched all over his face. "Said an incantation, did they? You seem very well informed about how the mark is summoned, missy -"

But none of the Ministry wizards apart from Mr. Crouch seemed to think it remotely likely that the three of- my eyes went wide and I looked around our feet, and saw no fox. I looked to where we had been before Hermione had started us running, and saw a small figure frozen on the ground, her red and white fur tinted a sickly green by the skull and snake. "Lyra!" I gasped, rushing past the Ministry wizards.

I heard someone say my name, but I was too focused on my sister to pay much attention. She was rooted to the spot, staring up at they Mark in the sky, her small form shaking violently, her breathing reaching hyperventilation. "Lyra!" I said frantically, waving my hand in her face, but she was practically catatonic. I looked up to see some of the wizards watching me bemusedly, Mr. Weasley rushed over, Hermione and Ron hot on his heels. A jet of blue light hit Lyra and she reverted back from her animagus form, though little changed. Some of the ministry wizards were shocked into action, rushing forward.

She was on he knees, her arms wrapped around herself and shaking, her breathing erratic and shallow. Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes as she continued to look skyward. I knelt in front of her and shook her lightly. "Lyra, calm down." I begged. Her head snapped to look at me, and as she stared at me, I saw the horror and fear in her eyes, her shaking became increasingly violent for a moment, her breath choking into what sounded much like a sob, and then she collapsed into me. "Lyra!"

One of the Ministry witches stepped forward, muttering a spell over my sister. "She's only fainted." she said, and the tense demeanor of many of the other wizards relaxed.

Mr. Weasley put a hand on my shoulder, and gave me a gentle look. "She'll be ok, she just needs to rest. Hopefully she'll be more relaxed after she wakes up."


	24. Aftermath

**I promise you guys that I'm gonna bust my ass these last two days of my Spring Break to give you installments in this story. I'm finally over my writer's block and am just itching to get back to work! (Or is that my poison ivy? Remind me why I went camping?)**

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><p>I woke up with a scream, shooting upright in my bed. Remembering what had happened, I felt hot tears well in my eyes, and I pulled my knees up to my chest, burying my face in my arms. Moments later, a set of warm arms wrapped around my shoulders, and I heard my brother's voice speaking calming words into my hair, pleading with me to calm down, reminding me that I was okay. After a minute I was able to get control over my breathing again, and focused on evening it out, letting the tears stop on their own.<p>

Once I was calm again, Harry let go of me, and I lifted my head to see that the girls' 'room' had become quite crowded. Sara and Hermione were peering at me from their beds, and Fred, George, Ron, Mr. Weasley, and Bill were all crammed in here, watching me anxiously. Harry seemed to notice them too, and waved the other boys off with a quiet 'go'.

The five of them filed out, and Hermione and Sara politely laid back down and ignored us. Harry looked at me gently. "Are you going to be alright? You scared me."

I took a shuddering breath. "I - I think s-so, I -" I took another breath, hating that I was stuttering. "What happened? The last thing I remember is the, the Dark Mark." I said.

Harry sighed and crossed his legs. "The Ministry attacked us by accident, you went catatonic, fainted, and they found Winky the house elf with my wand, which had been used to conjure the Mark," He held up a hand to stop me interrupting. "We realized that whoever cast the thing must have stolen my wand, so that the magic couldn't be traced back to their own wand. After that Mr. Weasley carried you back to the tent, put you to bed so you could rest, and we looked for the others. Everyone's okay, but we're leaving in a few hours, so you should rest, okay?"

I didn't tell him that I doubted I'd be able to get back to sleep, but I nodded in agreement anyway. "Okay." I said. Harry nodded, and climbed down from my bunk. Just as he was about to leave the room I spoke up again. "And Harry?" He paused to look at me. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

He gave me a small smile. "I'm just grateful you're okay."

After he left, I laid back down and stared at the canvas ceiling. Sara spoke in the darkness. "Lyra? You are gonna be okay, right?"

I sighed, I concentrated on my breathing as I sighed, feeling the air rush into my lungs and pull from it suddenly. "I'll be fine Sara."

"Do you mind us asking what happened?" said Hermione gently.

I swallowed past the lump I suddenly found in my throat. "I had a panic attack. I used to have them when I was a kid, I'm not surprised that I blacked out afterword."

"Oh."

After that, everyone went back to sleep. Except me. I was wide-awake, and worried.

Three days ago - it felt like much longer, but it had only been three days - I had awoken with my scar burning. And tonight, for the first time in thirteen years, Lord Voldemort's mark had appeared in the sky. What did these things mean?

I thought of the letter I had written to Sirius before leaving Godric's Hollow. Would Sirius have gotten it yet? When would he reply? I looked up at the canvas, but not even uneasy thoughts of Draco, or fantasies of flight would break through the wall of thought. I could feel the fear from earlier, settling itself deep in my chest.

Blinking back tears that were suddenly filling my eyes, I morphed and jumped down from the bunk, walking until I was standing beside Harry's bed. I leapt up onto it, and he looked up, still awake. I stared at him for a minute, and he gave me an understanding look.

"You want to sleep in here tonight?" He asked quietly, so as not to disturb the others. I nodded and silently stepped closer and promptly curled up against his side. He sighed and laid his head back down, his hand rested itself on my side; normally I would have snapped at him for treating me like some kind of pet when I was like this, but now, the hand just felt comforting. I'd never tell him, but back when we had our parents, on nights when we were fussy, I could remember Dad pulling us from our bassinet and placing us between him and Mum. As I remembered those nights, I realized that Harry's scent was vaguely similar to Dad's, not that I'd ever tell him. This only served to make me snuggle closer and squeeze my eyes tight, and I soon dozed off.

Mr. Weasley woke us up after only a few hours of sleep. I noticed that while they were all aware of my presence, as no one was changing cloths yet, no one wondered or asked why I was there. Feeling discomfort prick at my fur, I leapt down from Harry's bed, and walked to the exit to the boys' room, glancing quietly at my brother just before I left through the flaps. I went to change in the girls' room, where again, no one questioned where I'd been.

After we were all changed, Mr. Weasley used Magic to pack up the tent, and we left the campsite as quickly as possible, passing Mr. Roberts, the site manager, at the door of his cottage. The muggle had a strange, dazed look about him, and he waved us off with a vague "Merry Christmas."

"He'll be all right." said Mr. Weasley quietly as we marched off onto the moor. "Sometimes, when a person's memory is modified, it makes him a bit disoriented for a while... and that was a big thing they had to make him forget." Belatedly, I realized that he and his family must have been some of the ones up in the air last night. My stomach churned.

We heard urgent voices as we approached the spot where the Portkeys lay, and when we reached it, we found a great number of witches and wizards gathered around Basil, the keeper of the Portkeys, all clamoring to get away from the campsite as quickly as possible. Mr. Weasley had a hurried discussion with Basil; we joined the queue, and were able to take an old rubber tire back to Stoatshead Hill before the sun had really walked back through Ottery St. Cachpole and up the damp lane toward the Burrow in the dawn light, talking little because we were all so exhausted, and thinking longingly of our breakfast. As we rounded the corner, and the Burrow came into view, a cry echoed along the lane.

"Oh thank goodness, thank goodness!"

Mrs. Weasley, who evidently had been waiting for us in the front yard, came running towards us, still wearing her bedroom slippers, her face pale and strained, a rolled up copy of the _Daily Prophet_ clutched in her hand.

"Arthur - I've been so worried -_ so worried_ -"

She flung her arms around Mr. Weasley's neck, and the _Daily Prophet_ fell out of her limp hand onto the ground. Looking down, I saw the headline, and any appetite for breakfast that I might have had vanished. _SCENES OF TERROR AT THE QUIDDITCH WORLD CUP_, complete with a twinkling black-and white photograph of the Dark Mark over the treetops.

"You're all right," Mrs Weasley muttered distractedly, releasing Mr Weasley and staring around at us all with red eyes. "You're alive... Oh _boys_..." And to everyone's surprise, she seized Fred and George and pulled them into such a tight hug that their heads banged together.

"_Ouch!_ Mum - you're strangling us -"

"I shouted at you before I left!" Mrs Weasley said, starting to sob. "It's all I've ben thinking about! What if You-Know-Who had got you, and the last thing I ever said to you was that you didn't get enough O.W.L.s? Oh Fred... George..."

"Come on now Molly, we're all perfectly okay." said Mr Weasley soothingly, prising her off the twins and leading her towards the home. "Bill," he added in a undertone, "pick up that paper, I want to see what it says..."

As we walked into the house, I nudged Charlie, whom was walking beside me. "Five knuts says that that vile Skeeter woman is already making a mess from the debacle last night." I muttered irritably. That witch truly didn't know how to write _anything_ that wasn't at least slightly insulting.

The older red-head snorted. "No thanks, I'd rather keep my money thanks. But I doubt that she made the morning paper."

Mrs Weasley was nursing a cup of tea spiked with firewhiskey as her husband scanned the front page. Percy read over his shoulder, as did Bill. "I knew it," said Mr Weasley heavily. "_Ministry blunders... culprits not apprehended... lax security... Dark wizards running around unchecked... national disgrace..._ Who wrote this? Ah... of course... Rita Skeeter." I raised an eyebrow at Charlie, who was avoiding making eye contact.

"That woman's got it in for the Ministry of Magic!" said Percy furiously. "Last week she was saying we're wasting our time quibbling about cauldron thickness, when we should be stamping out vampires! As if it wasn't _specifically_ stated in paragraph twelve of the Guidelines for the treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans-"

"Do us a favor, Perce," said Bill, yawning. "and shut up."

"I'm mentioned." said Mr Weasley, his eyes widening behind his glasses as he reached the bottom of the article.

"Where?" spluttered Mrs Weasley, choking on her tea and whiskey. "If I'd seen that, I'd have known you were alive!"

"Not by name," said Mr Weasley. "Listen to this: _'If the terrified wizards and witches who waited breathlessly for news at the edge of the wood expected reassurance from the Ministry of Magic, they were sadly disappointed. A Ministry official emerged some time after the appearance of the Dark Mark alleging that no one had been hurt, but refusing to give any more information. Whether this statement will be enough to quash the rumors that several bodies were removed from the woods an hour later, remains to be seen.'_ Oh really," said Mr Weasley in exasperation, handing the paper to Percy. "Nobody _was_ hurt. What was I supposed to say? _rumors that several bodies were removed from the woods_... well, there certainly will be rumors now she's printed that." He heaved a deep sigh. "Molly, I'm going to have to go into the office; this is going to take some smoothing over."

"I'll come with you, Father," said Percy importantly. "Mr Crouch will need all hands on deck. And I can give him my cauldron report in person."

He bustled out of the kitchen. Mrs Weasley looked most upset. "Arthur, you're supposed to be on holiday! This hasn't got anything to do with your office; surely they can handle this without you?"

"I've got to go, Molly," said Mr Weasley. "I've made things worse. I'll just change into my robes and I'll be off..."

"Mrs. Weasley," said Harry quite suddenly. "Hedwig hasn't arrived with a letter for me, has she?" I raised an eyebrow at him. Where on earth had that come from?

"Hedwig dear?" said Mrs Weasley distractedly. "No... there hasn't been any post at all."

Harry gave Hermione, Ron, and I a meaningful look. "All right if I go and dump my stuff off in your room, Ron?"

"Yeah... I think I will too." said Ron at once. "Hermione, Lyra?"

"Yes." said Hermione quickly. I tugged Sara's shirt as a message for her to follow and the five of us marched out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

"What's up Harry?"said Ron, the moment we had closed the door of the attic room behind us.

"There's something I haven't told you." Harry said, making me instantly wary. "On Saturday morning, I woke up with my scar hurting again."

Hermione's insta-babble was cut off when I overrode her. "You had a nightmare beforehand didn't you?" I said, feeling ice in my insides.

Harry's eyes got wide behind his glasses. "Yeah, how did you-" He broke off, realization dawning on his face. "It happened to you too, didn't it?" I nodded.

Hermione's face lit up. "Do you think it's because you're twins? Oh, that whole twin telepathy thing -"

"Hermione, no offense, but shut up." I said bluntly. "Twin telepathy? Really?" I shook my head. "I'm willing to bet it's got to do with our curse scars." I sat down on Harry's bed and crossed my legs. The others sat down too.

Harry nodded. "I hate to say it, but you're probably right."

"Why don't we compare notes?" I said dryly. "My nightmare involved Pettigrew and Voldemort -"

"Don't - say - his - name!" Ron hissed through gritted teeth.

I waved him off. "Shush. Anyway, they were talking about something with another man I didn't recognize. I couldn't hear what they were saying though. It was like they were talking underwater."

Harry's brow scrunched up. "I don't remember it all now, but they were plotting to kill... people." He looked as if he was going to say something different, but upon looking at our friends, had changed his mind. He gave me a meaningful look, to which I nodded. Us. They were planning to kill us.

"It was only a dream." Ron said bracingly. "Just a nightmare."

"But was it though?" Sara asked, crossing her arms and frowning.

I nodded grimly. "It seems a little to convenient doesn't it?" I said, looking around at our friends. "_Both_ of us wake up on the same morning, from similar nightmares, with our scars hurting, and three days later, Death Eaters are on the march and Voldemort's sign's up in the sky again."

"Don't-"

"Shut up Ron!" Harry and I said at the same time.

"Remember what Trelawney said at the end of last year?" My brother pointed out.

Hermione snorted. "Oh, Harry, you aren't going to pay attention to anything that old fraud says?"

"You weren't there," said Harry. "You didn't hear her. This time was different. I told you - she went into a trance - a real one. And she said the Dark Lord would rise again... _greater and more terrible than ever before_... and he'd manage it because his servant was going to go back to him."

"And then later that very same night, Wormtail escaped." I finished, scowling. "Even if that old bat is _barely_ a seer, and from what you've told us Harry, I think that's the case, we _can't_ ignore what she said."

There was a silence in which Ron fidgeted with a hole in his Chudley Cannons bedspread, which Sara was pointedly ignoring.

"Why were you asking if Hedwig had come, Harry?" Hermione asked. "Are you expecting a letter?"

"I told Sirius about my scar." said Harry, shrugging. "I'm waiting for his answer." I didn't bother to mention that I had done the same.

"Good thinking!" said Ron, his expression clearing. "I bet Sirius'll know what to do!"

I glared. "Hey loudmouth, maybe we should be a little quieter when we mention a hunted criminal. I know we're high up, but Ginny might come looking for us. So could anyone in your family for that matter."

He flushed. Hermione frowned. "It could be a while before he gets back to you though. For all we know he's in Africa or someplace, couldn't he? Hedwig's not going to manage _that_ journey in just a few days."

I smiled as I thought about this. Zephyr loved flying over deserts. He enjoyed the heat, if he was flying to Africa he'd get to see the Sahara. Though Hedwig the snowy owl would probably hate it. I hoped that Zephyr would be considerate if they crossed each other as they probably would.

We were all quiet for several minutes afterword, until pecking came from the window. A large owl with mottled feathers was sitting on the outside sill, waiting to be let in. Recognizing it, I stood up and opened the window. It slew in silently and settled itself on the footboard of Ron's bed. Harry glared at the owl.

"Isn't that Malfoy's owl?" He asked distastefully.

I shot him a warning look. "No. Archimedes is an eagle owl, this is Blaise's barred owl Camilla." I said with an impatient sigh, taking the letter from her beak. "And even if it was Draco's owl, you need to get over my being friends with him. It's starting to get on my nerves."

Sitting back down, I expected Camilla to fly back out the window, but wasn't really surprised when she didn't. Blaise probably told her to wait for a reply. Unfolding the parchment, I saw that it was actually Draco's handwriting.

_Lyra_

_Please tell me you're okay. After you ran off after your brother last night, I ran into Blaise, and we both are understandably concerned about you due to the appearance of the Dark mark. Check in with us so Blaise can stop freaking out and I can get back to my life._

_Draco_

I rolled my eyes at the letter, and turned it over. "Ron, hand me the quill off your desk would you?" He passed it over and I scrawled a short message on the back, put it back in the blank envelope, and handed it to Blaise's owl. Immediately she left through the window, which I closed before putting down the quill.

"What was that about?" Hermione asked, curious.

I shrugged. "Blaise was just making sure we were okay after what happened." I said. Technically it wasn't a lie.

* * *

><p>"She's back!" I shouted, hopping up off of the couch as Camilla flew in through the french doors. I ran and practically tore the letter from her beak. I pulled out the letter to find that it was the one I'd sent to Lyra, turning it over, I saw a curt note.<p>

_Glad to know you care so much, jerk. Yes I'm fine. So is everyone else, since you asked._

Blaise, who was reading over my shoulder snorted with laughter. "See? I told you she'd be okay. And from that I'd say she's perfectly fine, if she has the energy to snap at you."

"How was I being a jerk?"

He rolled his eyes. "Check in so that I can get back to my life?" He raised an eyebrow. "Even if you were trying to act nonchalant, that was still pretty rude. Idiot"


	25. Morning Train Ride

**Not extremely pleased with how this chapter turned out. Might go back and adjust it at a later date, but for now, it'll do. Next time, Sara gets sorted, the tournament is announced, and Lyra discovers that she really just doesn't like defense against the dark arts. At all. Even if it is one of her best subjects.**

**Bit of Draco/Lyra hints. Theo Nott has a big mouth.**

**REVIEW PLEASE**

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><p>There was a definite end-of-the-holidays gloom in the air when I woke up the morning of September first. Heavy rain was splattering against the window as I got dressed in jeans and my Ireland sweatshirt. Nath yawned at me from the pillow that he had commandeered while I was dressing. I chuckled and scratched him behind his ears. He was about twice the size he was last summer, but he still only took up about three-fourths of the pillow.<p>

"Morning snoozels." I said as he purred at me. I glanced around to see that Sara was still sleeping, with her Kneazle nowhere in sight. I shrugged, assuming it was off with Crookshanks somewhere.

I still didn't know how her parents had let her keep the creature. Half-kneazles like Hermione's cat weren't very uncommon, but full-blooded ones were only ever seen accompanying witches and wizards that they had a special liking for. And you needed a permit to keep one since they didn't look like normal cats and could attract unwanted Muggle attention. Add that to the fact that they could be aggressive if they didn't like you.

But Sara's kneazle Samwise was mellow even when one considered that.

I flicked my best friend's temple. "Yo, wake up. You need to get going or else you'll miss breakfast." She groaned unintelligibly and rolled over. I rolled my eyes and pushed her off the bed. She fell, landing with a small shriek. Hermione, who was getting dressed, stifled a giggle. Sara sat up, rubbing her head, and glared at me over the edge of the mattress. "Oh good, you're up." I said brightly.

I dodged as she threw her pillow at me, escaping into the hallway. "Bitch!" she called after me. I just laughed.

A little further up the stairs, Harry, Ron, Fred, and George were coming down, chuckling at what they'd heard. George smirked. "Spitfire, that one." he commented.

I chuckled and was about to agree when Mrs. Weasley appeared at the foot of the stairs looking harassed. "Arthur!" she called up the staircase. "Arthur! Urgent message from the Ministry!"

The boys and I flattened ourselves against the wall as Mr. Weasley came clattering past with his robes on back-to-front and hurtled out of sight. When we all entered the kitchen, we saw Mrs. Weasley rummaging anxiously through the drawers - "I've got a quill here somewhere!" - and Mr. Weasley was bending over the fire talking to Mr. Diggory, who seemed to have made a floo call. I heard Harry make a small strangled sound. It occurred to me that Harry had never seen this before.

"...Muggle neighbors heard bangs and shouting, so they went and called those what-d'you-call- 'ems - please-men. Arthur, you've got to get over there-"

"Here!" said Mrs. Weasley breathlessly, pushing a piece of parchment, a bottle of ink, and a crumpled quill into Mr. Weasley's hands.

"-it's a real stroke of luck I heard about it." said Mr. Diggory's head. "I had to come into the office early to send a couple of owls, and I found the Improper Use of Magic lot all setting off - if Rita Skeeter gets hold of this one, Arthur-"

"What does Mad-Eye say happened?" asked Mr. Weasley, unscrewing the ink bottle, loading up his quill, and preparing to take notes.

Mr. Diggory rolled his eyes. "Says he heard an intruder in his yard. Says he was creeping towards the house, but was ambushed by his dustbins."

"What did the dustbins do?" asked Mr. Weasley, scribbling frantically.

"Made one hell of a noise and fired rubbish everywhere, as far as I can tell," said Mr. Diggory. "Apparently one of them was still rocketing around when the please-men turned up-"

Mr. Weasley groaned. "And what about the intruder?"

"Arthur, you know Mad-Eye," said Mr. Diggory's head, rolling his eyes again. "Someone creeping into his yard in the dead of night? More than likely there's a very shell-shocked cat wandering around somewhere, covered in potato peelings. But if the Improper Use of Magic lot get their hands on Mad-Eye, he's had it - think of his record - we've got to get him off on a minor charge, something in your department - what are exploding dustbins worth?"

"Might be a caution," said Mr. Weasley, still writing very fast, his brow furrowed. "Mad-Eye didn't use his wand? He didn't actually attack anyone?"

"I'll bet he leapt out of bed and started jinxing everything he could reach through his window," said Mr. Diggory. "but they'll have a job proving it, there weren't any casualties."

"All right, I'm off." Mr. Weasley said, stuffing his notes into his pocket and dashing out of the room again.

Mr. Diggory's head looked around at Mrs. Weasley. "Sorry about this, Molly." he said, more calmly. "Bothering you so early and everything... but Arthur's the only one who can get Mad-Eye off, and Mad-Eye's supposed to be starting his new job today. Why he had to chose last night..."

"Never mind, Amos." said Mrs. Weasley. "Sure you wont have a bit of toast before you go?"

"Oh, go on then." said Mr. Diggory. Mrs. Weasley took a piece of buttered toast off the stack on the table and transferred it into Mr. Diggory's mouth. "Fanks," he said in a muffled voice, and then, with a small _pop_, vanished.

Within five minutes, Mr Weasley was back in the kitchen, his robes on the right way now, dragging a comb through his hair. "I'd better hurry, you have a good term, kids." he said to us, fastening a cloak over his shoulders and preparing to Disapparate. "Molly, are you going to be all right taking the kids to King's Cross?"

"Of course I will," she said. "You just look after Mad-Eye, we'll be fine."

As Mr Weasley vanished, Bill and Charlie entered the kitchen. "Did someone say Mad-Eye?" the former asked. "What's he been up to now?"

"He says someone tried to break into his house last night."

"Mad-Eye Moody?" said George thoughtfully, his eyes darting to the door as Ginny, Hermione, and Sara walked in. "Isn't he that nutter-"

"Your father thinks very highly of Mad-Eye Moody." said Mrs. Weasley sternly.

"Yeah well, Dad collects plugs, doesn't he? said Fred quietly as his mother left the room. "Birds of a feather..."

"Hold on." I said, my brain finally catching up with who was being spoken about. "Not _Alastor_ Moody, the Auror?"

"The very same." said Bill. "But how'd you know about him?"

"Because there was about a year and a half when she was obsessed with the British Wizarding War." Sara said, sitting down between Harry and George.

"I was not _obsessed_."

"Hon, you had three giant scrapbooks."

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><p>Sara and I parted ways with my brother our other friends when we got on the train. I bewitched our trunks to drift after us, and cradling my cat in the crook of my arm, I dragged her off to another end of the train, where most Slytherins tended to seat themselves. Samwise padded after us lazily.<p>

"So where are you dragging me off to?" She asked lamely.

"Looking for Theo, ah, here we go." I said, walking into a compartment with a dark haired boy who's nose was stuck in a book. Rolling my eyes, I set my cat down and snatched it from him.

Looked up with a glare on his face, "Hey! Oh, it's you." he said, relaxing immediately.

"'Oh it's you'? Well, you certainly know how to make a girl feel special, don't you, Nott?" I said sarcastically. "So do I get a hug or what?" Chuckling, he stood to hug me briefly.

"It's good to see you." He said, sitting back down.

Smiling, I flicked my wand at the luggage, which neatly settled itself into the rack. I sat down and motioned to my best friend. "This is the girl I told you about, Sara. Sara, this is Theodore Nott; he's a good friend of mine, and a fellow Slytherin."

He smiled kindly at her. "It's nice to meet you."

"Same." she said, sitting down on his side, shaking his hand. Samwise hopped up beside her and rested himself half-on and half-off her lap. I picked Nath back up and stroked his fur.

I frowned at him. "I didn't see you at the Cup, did you not go?"

He shook his head. "Got myself grounded."

I scoffed. "But you already had the tickets bought and paid for! Surely your dad isn't _that_ much of a hard head?"

He shrugged. "I never heard the outcome though, to much clamor about the-"

"Dark Mark." I said irritably. "It was a good match. Ireland was flattening them, but Krum got the snitch. Ireland won by something like..."

"Only ten points. Ireland was one-sixty ahead of them." Sara said smugly. "And it's no surprise with the three best chasers in the world on their team."

"And here we go again." I grumbled.

Theo raised an eyebrow in question, but Sara snorted. "Well, excuse me, your majesty, I forgot you don't really like quidditch."

"She dose when Draco's playing." Theo piped up.

I felt my face heat up and I was about to shout at him when an arrogant, drawling voice from the doorway of the compartment halted me. "Oh _really_?" I felt my face heat up even more as I looked at him. His blond hair was hanging in his eyes again, and his mouth was turned up in one of the most arrogant expressions I'd ever seen him wear. He looked very much like that cat that caught the canary. "Is that why you go to all the Slytherin matches? I mean, I know you go to the Gryffindor ones to support your brother, but-"

"Just shut up." I said petulantly, glaring at him briefly before looking pointedly out the window.

He sat down next to me and put an arm around my shoulders. "You know Lyra, if you like me, you can just tell me." he said in a half-teasing way.

I pinched his wrist, and he snatched his arm back, yelping. "Keep your hands to yourself, Malfoy."

"Bloody hell woman, no need to get violent." He grumbled. Blaise, who'd come in with him, laughed. "Shut up."

He shook his head. "You shouldn't have poked the manticore." he chuckled.

I glared at him. "Manticore? Really?" I asked dryly. Sara suddenly burst out laughing. I looked at her curiously. "And just what is so funny?"

She laughed and shook her head. "You are! I've never seen you like this."

I frowned. "What, irritated?"

She calmed down and smiled. "No, at ease. Even around our friends you were always the quiet one of the group. But you're like the co-ringleader here."

"Co?" Draco asked.

She nodded. "You and her. When she's not here, I'm betting you run the show."

I smiled and shook my head. "I would love to know how you're odd little mind works sometimes, Sara. Because you make less than no sense sometimes."

She was about to say something in response, but the compartment door slid open to reveal a very uncomfortable Harry James Potter. I frowned and sat up a bit straighter.

Draco sneered "What're _you_ doing here?" I smacked him on the arm.

Harry ignored him in a show of serious self control. He held up a folded piece of paper. "You'll want to look at this. Padfoot wrote back."

I perked up and took the paper when he held it out.

_Harry and Lyra-_

_I'm flying north immediately. This news about your scars hurting is the latest in a string of strange rumors that have reached me here. If they hurt again go straight to Dumbledore - they're saying he's got Mad-Eye out of retirement, which means he's reading the signs, even if no one else is._

_I'll be in touch soon. My best to Ron and Hermione. Keep your eyes open you two._

_Sirius_

"Is he NUTS?" I shouted, shooting out of my seat. I looked anxiously at my brother. He glanced around at my company, and frowned. I pushed him out of the compartment, following behind and shutting the door. "He can't be serious about this. It's madness! Suicide almost!" I hissed.

He looked furious. "What signs is he talking about though, apart from the nightmares..."

I shook my head. "I've no idea, but if he get's caught it'll be our fault." I said miserably. I glanced back at the compartment door. "Go back to Ron and Hermione. We can discuss this later, when the four of us have a bit more privacy. We don't need to make things worse by getting caught talking about him by unfriendly ears."

"Meaning Malfoy and his little friends?" He said crossly.

I frowned. "Meaning anyone, Harry. And if Draco knew, I'm confident that he'd stay quiet." I nodded towards the other end of the train. "Go."

Frowning, he did so.

* * *

><p>When Lyra slid back into the compartment, she looked rattled. Sara stood and looked at her curiously. "What's wrong?"<p>

Lyra took a shaky breath. "He's flying abroad. Because he's worried about Harry and I. Gods, Sara, if he get's caught it'll be all my fault. I should never have told him about that stupid thing."

The bouncy blond looked stricken. "You can't think that way." Lyra shook her head and morphed, jumping into her old seat and curled against Draco's thigh. "Lyra, he might not _get_ caught." The fox-girl just whimpered quietly and covered her snout with her paws.


	26. Angsty way to start

**A bit of Theodore/Hermione in this chapter. And Lyra sucks at betting. For those of you who get the reference, she's about as bad as Tsunade. Except her losing doesn't foreshadow doom.**

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><p>About an hour later, the train came to a stop and it was time to get off. Morphing, I sighed and walked towards the door, but someone caught my arm and held me back. Turning, I saw Theo looking at me with concern. Blaise and Draco paused in the door, frowning at us. Theo waved them off.<p>

"Go on, we'll catch up with you." He said. "I need to talk to Lyra."

They exchanged glances before shrugging and stepping out. "We'll save you room in the carriage." Draco said over his shoulder.

After they were gone, I turned to look at the dark haired boy curiously. "What's up?" I asked.

He frowned, scratching the back of his head, as he had a tendency to do when he was uncomfortable. "I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't see Draco until after I'd said it."

I frowned, crossing my arms. "That's why I hate it when people do those things. You never know who could hear you." He winced at my tone, so I sighed, and softened my gaze. "It's fine Theo, just don't do it again, okay?"

He nodded, and we left the compartment. "So, er..." He began awkwardly as we stepped off the train a minute later, scratching his head again.

I chuckled. "Was there something else?" I said, slowing my pace a bit, even though I could see Draco and Blaise waiting next to a carriage, the strange winged horses pawing at the ground impatiently.

He frowned. "Er, yes - well no - I mean..."

I giggled at him. "Spit it out goofball."

He frowned. "I didn't want to say anything in front of Draco, but you know that pen-pal you set me up with?" I nodded. "I know it's Hermione." He said.

I smiled. "You two have a lot in common you know. And you don't seem to upset about her identity."

He grimaced. "I never really believed in all that blood-purity stuff. And I don't mind it, that it's her, I mean. It's just that, well..." He trailed off.

We were almost within hearing range of the other two, so I stopped walking. "What?"

He looked at me with a bit of confusion. "I figured out that it was her on my own. She did like you asked, and wouldn't tell me her name. But, she still doesn't know it's me."

I smiled softly at him. "Do you want her to?"

"Yes, no, I mean... it's complicated." He said.

I shrugged. "Then don't tell her. Keep writing to each other, and when you grow a set, tell her who you are. Approach her in person."

"But I'm a Slytherin." He said, as if that explained everything.

I placed a hand on his shoulder. "So am I." I replied simply.

"Oy! If the pair of you are done cuddling, can we get a move on? It's starting to rain!" Draco said impatiently, stepping into the carriage. Blaise quickly joined him. Laughing at them, I tugged Theo along, as we jogged to get in with them. When we sat down and closed the door, the carriage lurched forward as we were toted off towards the castle. Draco frowned. "What was that about you two?"

I smirked at him. "If we wanted you to know, we would have continued our conversation within your hearing range."

He rolled his eyes. "So, any final guesses on what house Sara will be sorted into?"

Blaise smirked. "Two sickles says she's in Ravenclaw."

"I'll take that bet, I think she'll make a fine Slytherin." Draco said haughtily. I chuckled, shaking my head at them. Draco wrinkled his nose. "What, you disagree? Go on then, what house do _you_ think she'll be in?"

I smirked. "Please, I've been her friend for years. And I'm sorry to have to say it boys, but you'll have to get used to hanging out with a girl of the scarlet and gold persuasion."

Draco made a disgusted noise. "As if. She's not nearly idiotic enough."

I sighed. "Whatever you say..."

Blaise chuckled. "So are you in on our little wager then?"

I smiled innocently. "Aww, Blaise, I can't take your money."

Draco snickered at us. "Chicken."

I glared playfully. "Oh, fine." I said, checking my pocket to make sure that I had the money. Not that I'd lose.

By the time we reached the castle, the rain had picked up with the wind, which was fast becoming a gale. Lightning flashed across the sky as our carriage came to a halt before the great oak front doors. People who had occupied the carriages ahead of us were already racing up the stone steps and inside. Theo, Draco, Blaise, and I jumped down from our carriage and dashed up the steps too, looking up, only when we were safely inside the cavernous, torch-lit entrance hall, with it's magnificent marble staircase.

"Bloody hell." Theo said, shaking his head and sending water everywhere. "If that keeps up, the Lake's going to overflow. I'm soaked to the bone."

"Here." said Blaise, pulling out his wand. _"Siccans." _he declared, waving his wand in a swishing motion. Instantly, the four of us were warm and dry.

I nodded in approval. "Very nice. Where'd you pick that one up?"

He shrugged. "My mother."

And with that, we crossed the hall and into the double doors on the right. The Great Hall looked it's usual splendid self, decorated for the start of term feast. Golden plates and goblets gleamed by the light of hundreds and hundreds of candles, floating over the tables in midair. The four long House tables were packed with chattering students, half of which were drenched, while the other half seemed to know Blaise's little drying spell. At the top of the hall on the raised dais, the staff sat along a fifth table, facing their pupils. It was much warmer in here. Blaise, Draco, Theo, and I walked past the Gryffindors, the Huffelpuffs, and the Ravenclaws, and sat down with the rest of our house, myself between Blaise and Theodore, with Draco on Blaise's other side. Across the Hall, I saw Harry, and just as I was taking my seat, I waved to him.

Once we had sat down and gotten comfortable, Pansy pug-nose Parkinson claimed Draco's attention, via chatting his ear off and sitting down beside him. He threw the three of us a pleading glance, but there was nothing to be done. Especially not when Crabbe and Goyle made Blaise scoot down so they could sit with Draco.

Theo snickered at our friend's predicament before looking longingly at the empty plates in front of us. "I hope they hurry with the sorting. I haven't eaten today, I could eat a hippogriff."

I rolled my eyes. "You're the one who passed up lunch on the train, dum-dum."

Around ten minutes later, when everyone was seated, the doors of the Great Hall opened, and silence fell. Professor McGonagall was leading a long line of first years up to the top of the Hall. If those in the hall whom were still wet, it was nothing compared to how these first years looked. They appeared to have swum across the Black Lake. All of them were shivering with a combination of cold and nerves as they filed along the staff table and came to a halt in a line facing the rest of the school - all of them except the smallest of the lot, a boy with mousy hair, who was wrapped in what I recognized as Hagrid's moleskin overcoat. The coat was so big for him that it looked as thought he were draped in a furry black circus tent. His small face protruded from over the collar, looking almost painfully excited.

"Another Mudblood, that one." sneered Pansy quietly, I looked down along the table to see Draco nodding in agreement, his nose wrinkled up as if he smelled something foul. I rolled my eyes and ignored him. That was the one thing about Draco that I could not _stand_. And it was also why Theo was more than likely going to take all year to actually speak to Hermione. He didn't wan't to be ostracized by the prejudiced crowd that made up a vast majority of the Slytherins.

Professor McGonagall now placed a three-legged stool on the ground before the first years and, on top of it, an extremely old, dirty, patched wizards hat. The first years stared at it. So did everyone else. For a moment there was silence. Then a long tear near the brim opened wide like a mouth, and the hat broke into song:

_A thousand years or more ago,_

_When I was newly sewn,_

_There lived four wizards of renown,_

_Who's names are still well known:_

_Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,_

_Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,_

_Sweet Huffelpuff, from valley broad,_

_Shrewd Slytherin, from fen._

_They shared a hope, a dream,_

_They hatched a daring plan_

_To educate young sorcerers_

_Thus Hogwarts School began._

_Now each of these four founders_

_Formed their own house, for each_

_Did value different virtues_

_In the ones they had to teach._

_By Gryffindor, the bravest were_

_Prized far beyond the rest;_

_For Ravenclaw, the cleverest_

_Would always be the best;_

_For Huffelpuff, hard workers were_

_Most worthy of admission;_

_And power-hungry Slytherin_

_Loved those of great ambition._

_While alive they did divide_

_Their favorites from the throng,_

_Yet how to pick the worthy ones_

_When they were dead and gone?_

_'Twas Gryffindor who found the way,_

_He whipped me off his head_

_The founders put some brains in me_

_So I could chose instead!_

_Now slip me snug about your ears,_

_I've never yet been wrong,_

_I'll have a look inside your mind_

_And tell you where you belong!_

The Great Hall rang with applause as the Sorting Hat finished.

"That's not the song it sang when it sorted me, last year." I said, clapping along with everyone else.

"Sings a different song every year." explained Blaise. "It's got to be a boring life, hasn't it, being a hat? I suppose it spends all year, making up the next one."

Professor McGonagall was now unrolling a large scroll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat, and sit on the stool." She told the first years. "When the hat announces your House, you will go and sit at the appropriate table. Transferring students will be sorted after the first years." This statement made me look at the two people standing a bit away from the line off first years. There had been two spots in the program open, and Sara and the other boy who looked like a second year, were standing with the other new students. The exchange student program was introduced last year, so there was no need for an explanation or a special entrance.

"Ackerley, Stewart!"

A boy walked forward, visibly trembling from head to foot, picked up the sorting hat, put it on, and sat down on the stool.

"RAVENCLAW!" shouted the hat.

Stewart Ackerley took off the hat and hurried to a seat at the Ravenclaw table, where everyone was applauding. Across the hall, I could see Harry watching, not the new addition, but at Ravenclaw's seeker, a girl named Cho Chang.

"Baddock, Malcolm!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

I clapped along with the rest of the Slytherins as he joined our table.

"Branstone, Eleanor!"

"HUFFELPUFF!"

"Caldwell, Owen!"

"HUFFELPUFF!"

"Creevey, Dennis!"

"Well that explains a lot." I chuckled quietly, as the tiny boy wearing Hagrid's overcoat staggered forwards. As he did so, I noticed that he was still dripping water onto the stone floor, and realized that he must have fallen in the lake. He jammed the hat onto his head and sat down. The rip at the brim opened wide -

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted.

The small boy's grin broadened widely, and he whipped the sorting hat off his head, racing towards the cheering and clapping table of scarlet and gold ties and crests. I smiled as he sat down beside his older brother, Collin Creevey, and began speaking animatedly with him.

I looked back at the Sorting Hat, now sorting Emma Dobbs.

The sorting continued; boys and girls with varying degrees of fright on their faces moving one by one to the three legged stool, the line dwindling slowly as McGonagall passed the L's.

"Oh, hurry up." I said, anxiously. Excited to see Sara's Sorting, even if I already knew she'd be a Gryffindor.

"Pritchard, Graham!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Quirke, Orla!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

And finally, with "Whitby, Kevin!" ("HUFFELPUFF!") the first years were done, leaving Sara and the other boy.

"Transferring second year, Benson, Virgil!" The kid walked forward, looking a bit uncomfortable, put the hat on, and sat.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Transferring fourth year, Burke, Sara!"

She smiled as she placed the hat on her head, looking in our direction. I sent Blaise a smirk, but he didn't see it, looking triumphant even though he was about to-

"RAVENCLAW!"

Blaise chuckled, and held out his hands to Draco and I. Glaring at him, I pulled the coins out of my pocket and handed them over. "Thank you." He said cheerfully.

"Git." I muttered.

Theo laughed as Mcgonagall carried the hat and stool away. "That's what you get for betting against Blaise." He said. "You always loose bets and he never does."

I punched him in the arm. "Shut up Theo."

"Ow, bloody hell woman." He yelped, rubbing the sore spot. "Besides you should be glad that he was right. If your friend had landed in Slytherin or Gryffindor, then she'd have had to deal with house rivalries, since I'm guessing she's friends with your brother and his motley crew."

I ignored him, knowing that he was right, I looked up at the high table instead. Professor Dumbledore had gotten to his feat. He was smiling around at the students, his arms opened wide in welcome.

"I only have two words to say to you." He told us, his deep voice echoing around the Hall. _"Tuck in."_

"Here, here!" said Theo loudly, along with several other voices, as the empty golden plates filled magically before our eyes.

"So," I said in a quieter voice. "How _are_ things with Hermione? You never really told me." I said, smiling at my friend as he tore into his chicken as mannerly as he could manage, while still stuffing his face.

He swallowed and grinned at me. "It's great. Like you said back during the summer, she really gets me. And we can talk about pretty much anything. She's smart, funny, practical, clever, confident, genuine, pretty-" He cut himself off, looking embarrassed.

I couldn't help the evil grin that spread across my face. "So, you think she's pretty, hmm? You can't get that opinion from a letter, Mr. Nott." I said knowingly. He blushed and stuck a large bite of corned beef into his mouth. I chuckled. "Don't worry, I wont tell anyone that the great Nott family heir fancy's a muggleborn." I said quietly, leaning over to make sure he heard me.

He swallowed his food then spoke. "It doesn't matter anyway. Draco hates her, Blaise won't approve, the rest of our House would shun me, and don't even get me started on my parents. Do you have any idea of what they would do to me? And that's assuming she'd still talk to me if she finds out who I am." He shook his head.

I smiled softly at him. "I'd approve, and Blaise is a neutral party in almost every kind of confrontation. He's the middle ground. You don't like Crabbe and Goyle. And you don't care about the rest of our house. As far as your parents... you don't get along with them anyway. And as far as Draco goes, leave him to me."

"I worry about what you mean by 'leave him to me'."

I rolled my eyes and continued. "Look, just tell her it's you she's been writing to. I warned her that you were a Slytherin when I set this up. She didn't like it, but I asked her to give you a chance. Besides, you never bullied her, right?" He nodded. "So she's got no reason to stop being friends with you. She already knows you, speaking with her in person will just add a name and a face to the personality. And since there's no bad blood between you two, or any of her friends, she'll have no reservations about accepting you. The ball is in your court my friend."

After that we both fell silent, as I let him stew over that. After a little while, Blaise dragged me into a conversation, and we spent the remainder of dinner speculating about what this year would be like.

After both the dinner and the dessert had been demolished, and the last crumbs had faded off the plates, leaving them sparkling clean, Albus Dumbledore got to his feat again. The buzz of chatter filling the Hall ceased almost at once, so that only the howling wind and pounding rain could be heard.

"So!" said Dumbledore, smiling around at us all. "Now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few more notices.

"Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office, if anybody would like to check it." The corners of Dumbledore's mouth twitched. He continued. "As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to all students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year.

"It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

_"What?"_ Theo gasped quietly. I looked around at Blaise and Draco, they looked abhorred, and were mouthing soundlessly at Dumbledore, apparently too appalled to speak. Dumbledore continued. "This is due to an event that will be starting in october, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teacher's time and energy - but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. ("We'd better." grumbled Blaise, still outraged.) I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts-"

But at that moment, there was a deafening rumble of thunder and the doors of the Great Hall banged open.

A man stood in the doorway, leaning upon a long staff, shrouded in a black traveling cloak. Every head in the Great Hall swiveled towards the stranger, suddenly brightly illuminated by a long fork of lightning that flashed across the ceiling. He lowered his hood, shook out a long mane of grizzled, dark gray hair, then began to walk up towards the teachers' table.

A dull _clunk_ echoed through the Hall on his every other step. At this sound, several of the students at our table, including Theo and Draco, sat very still, their backs ram-rod straight. He reached the end of the top table, turned right, and limped heavily toward Dumbledore. Another flash of lightning crossed the ceiling, and my eyes went wide in shock.

The lightning had thrown the man's face into sharp relief, and it was a face unlike any I'd ever seen. It looked as though it had been carved out of weathered wood by someone who only had the vaguest idea of what a human face was supposed to look like, and was none too skilled with a chisel. Every inch of skin seemed to be scarred. The mouth looked like a diagonal gash, a large chunk of nose was missing. But it was the man's eyes that made him frightening.

One of them was small, dark, and beady. The other was large, round as a coin, and a vivid electric blue. The blue eye was moving ceaselessly, without blinking, and was rolling up, down, and from side to side, quite independently of the normal eye - and then it rolled right over, pointing into the back of the man's head, so that all that could be seen was grotesque whiteness.

"Mad-Eye Moody." said Blaise in a low voice that to me, sounded a bit fearful. I was a bit shocked by this knowledge. This was the man Mr. Weasley had gone to help this morning?

The man reached Dumbledore. He stretched out a hand that was as badly scarred as his face, and Dumbledore shook it, muttering words none of us could hear. He seemed to be making some inquiry to Moody, who shook his head unsmilingly and replied in an undertone. Dumbledore nodded and gestured the man to the empty seat on his right-hand side.

He sat down, shook his mane of dark gray hair out of his face, pulled a plate of sausages towards him, raised it to what was left of his nose, and sniffed it. He then took a small knife out of his pocket, speared a sausage on the end of it, and began to eat. His normal eye was fixed on the sausages, but the blue eye was still darting restlessly around in his socket, taking in the hall and the students.

"May I introduce our new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher? said Dumbledore brightly into the silence. "Professor Moody."

Last year, when Lupin had been introduced as a new teacher, he was greeted with warm applause, but none of the staff or students clapped except Dumbledore and Hagrid, who both put their hands together and applauded, but the sound echoed dismally into the silence, and they quickly stopped. Everyone else seemed too transfixed by Moody's bizarre appearance to do more than stare at him.

I looked to my right at Theo, who was still looking fairly uncomfortable. "Are you alright?" I asked in a whisper.

He seemed to snap out of it at this. Ducking his head, he looked at me. "Yeah, I just don't have many pleasant memories of that guy. I told you my dad used to be a Death Eater, right?" I nodded grimly. He shot a glance at our new teacher. "Well some of my first memories are of that man tramping in and out of our home after the war with other Aurors, dragging my father off to Azkaban. Nothing ever stuck though, but he checked in from time to time until he retired a few years ago. Same with Draco, and a lot of other Death Eater and alleged Death Eaters' kids. I cant tell you haw much I'd hoped to never hear that false leg again." I gave him a sympathetic look, and he shook his head in exasperation. "This is going to be one hell of a year." he muttered, mostly to himself.

Dumbledore cleared his throat, regaining our attention. "As I was saying," he said, smiling at the sea of students before him, most of whom were still staring at Mad-Eye Moody. "we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event which has not been held for over a century. It is my great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're JOKING!" said Fred Weasley loudly. The tension that had filled the Hall ever since Moody's arrival suddenly broke. Nearly every one laughed, myself among them. Dumbledore chuckled appreciatively.

"I am _not_ joking, Mr. Weasley." he said, "Though, now that you mention it, I did hear a particularly good one over the summer about a troll a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar..." Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly. "Er - but maybe this is not the time... no..." said Dumbledore. "where was I? Ah, yes, the Triwizard Tournament... well, some of you will not know what the Tournament involves, so I hope that those who _do _know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely.

"The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry; Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions would be compared in three magical tasks. The schools took it in terns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities - until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued."

_"Death toll?" _I hissed, alarmed. I couldn't help myself from looking at my three friends. Draco looked arrogant, Blaise looked confident, and Theo looked excited. Looking across the hall, I could see my brother and Ron sitting up a bit straighter, looking eager. My anxiety was well founded it would seem.

"There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the tournament," Dumbledore continued. "none of which has been very successful. However, our own departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Game and Sports have decided that the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger.

"The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."

"I'm going for it!" Blaise hissed, his face lit with enthusiasm at the prospect of such glory and riches. I felt my stomach flop over a bit. I didn't want to lose my friends to some horrible accident during a stupid game.

"Eager though I know all of you must be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," Dumbledore said, silencing the similar whispers which had broken out all across the Hall. "the heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry for Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age - that is to say, seventeen years or older - will be allowed to put forth their names for consideration. This" - Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, for several people had made several noises of outrage at these words, and I noticed that the Weasley twins were suddenly looking furious - "is a measure we feel necessary, given that the tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no under-age student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion." His light blue eyes lingered on the Gryffindor table, where Fred and George were looking back at him rather mutinously. "I therefore beg you to not waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen.

"The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!"

Dumbledore sat down again and turned to talk to Mad-Eye Moody. There was a great scraping and banging as all the students got to their feet and swarmed to towards the double doors leading to the entrance hall.

Just as we four were outside the doors, I grabbed the backs of Draco, Blaise, and Theo's cloaks, pulling them to the side, before the three of them started planning anything. They gave me uniform looks of confusion as I stared them down. I held up a finger. "If any of you, and I mean it, _any of you_, try and enter that tournament, I can promise that I _will_ tell the headmaster. I don't like the idea of being a whistle blower, but I will be if I need to be."

Draco snorted. "You're being dramatic Lyra." He said, turning to leave.

I grabbed a fist-full of his button-down shirt, and pulled him back around to face me. "Draco Lucius Malfoy, you _will _listen to me." I hissed angrily. "I know you, and I know you're going to try and find a way to enter. But I'm telling you, don't even think about it."

Theo looked cross, folding his arms across his chest. "What, you think we can't handle it?" he asked, sounding outraged.

I let my anger slip away as I released Draco's shirt, my expression turning soft. "Frankly, no, I don't. You three are only fourteen, we're _fourth years_. The headmasters _and_ the Ministry think that people under seventeen can't handle these tasks, because they're dangerous. That's people who've had years more training than we have, people only a year from graduating. What chance do you three think you could possibly have? We've been in school for three full years, not six. We the most powerful magic that we have between the four of us is my patronus charm. A _defensive_ spell. Not counting that, it would probably be either expelliarmus or incendio. So tell me, what chance do you thin you could have?"

Blaise was looking shameful, but Theo and Draco still seemed confident. "We can learn better spells you know." Draco pointed out.

I sighed. "You're right, you can. But how well will you be able to preform them against students who have been using them for _years_? And if that isn't enough to make you re think it, how about this, think of how it would effect your friends and family if something ever happened to you? Do you think your parents could handle burying their child? Or your one of us, burying our friend?"

With that, I walked past them towards the entrance of the dungeons, weaving in and out of students walking in the direction of the Grand Staircase.

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><p><strong>R&amp;R<strong>


	27. Bouncing a Ferret isn't in good fun

**So it seems that our young mister Theodore Nott is a crowd favorite. :3 I'm glad, because I like him too. He's not really mentioned that much in the books, so he's an open-to-interpretation sort of character whom I can take far more creative license with. So I enjoy writing him. And there will be more to coming the future as far as he and Hermione go, mostly in the form of angsty, fluffy, adorable goodness. :D**

* * *

><p>The storm had blown over by the following morning, though the ceiling of the Great Hal was still gloomy; heavy clouds of pewter gray swirled overhead as I picked at my breakfast, waiting for Professor Snape to give me my schedule. I could see him going up and down the table further along. It was a few minutes until he made his way to me, looking irritable for having to both deal with me, and having to go out of his way to do so, as I had sat away from most of the other Slytherins. He glared at me as he handed me the timetable, while I eyed him levelly. I was aware that I was on thin ice after what had happened at the end of last year.<p>

Sighing quietly, I looked down, finding that I had Potions first thing after breakfast, which made me groan though it _was_ with Ravenclaw. But second was Care of Magical Creatures, with the Gryffindors again, which made me smile. And then I had Transfiguration with the Huffelpuffs and History of Magic with Ravenclaw again this afternoon.

My examination was interrupted when two boys sat down beside me, and another sat across from me. Glancing up tiredly, I saw blond to my left, black to my right, and black in front of me. Draco, Theo, and Blaise. The people I didn't want to deal with. I'd woken up with a headache, and they were bound to only make it worse.

"Lyra, we wanted to apologize." Theo said from my right, making me look up in surprise. He looked a bit downcast, and ashamed. "We talked about it last night, and you're right. We wouldn't be able to handle it as well as we'd like to think."

"But mostly," Draco interjected. "We didn't want to put you through it."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, is that all? What about your parents?" I said, a bit frustrated that they didn't seem to care about them at all.

Blaise shrugged from across from me. "My mother's too busy being a pureblood socialite to bother to care."

Draco frowned. "My mother would be very upset."

Theo scowled. "And my father would be proud of me if I died pursuing glory."

I snorted dryly. "Never let it be said that the four of us don't have Mummy and Daddy issues." I said, taking a sip of my pumpkin juice. This made them all chuckle.

"We should start a support group." Blaise joked, someone kicked him under the table. "Ow."

"So, who's taking what electives?" I said, motioning to my schedule.

Draco sighed. "I'm still in Care of Magical Creatures and Alchemy."

Blaise shrugged. "Divination."

I groaned. "Why are you taking _that_ class? Trelawney is crazy. She keeps predicting my brother's 'untimely demise'." I said petulantly. Draco looked about ready to say something, but wisely stopped himself.

Blaise shrugged. "It's an easy class. But I'm in Astronomy again this year."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, which we don't have until friday night." He shrugged. I turned to the resident nerd of the Slytherin Fourth years. "Alright, Nott, what's on your plate?"

He went slightly pink in his ears. "Arithmancy and Ancient Runes."

I grinned. "You wouldn't be taking those because of a certain brown-eyed witch, would you?" I asked. His blush grew, and he busied himself by filling his plate with breakfast.

"Witch?" Draco said through a bit of toast.

"Our little Theodore has a crush. And would it kill you to swallow before you speak, honestly, you're as bad as Ronald."

"Oy! Don't compare me to that idiot!" I rolled my eyes.

Theo elbowed me. "What are you playing at? If they find out-" he whispered.

"Oh relax," I said. "They won't, not until it can't effect you. I know what I'm doing Theo." I said reassuringly.

There was a sudden rustling noise above us, and a hundred owls came soaring through the open windows carrying the morning mail. I looked up, finding Zephyr almost immediately. The other owls circled the tables looking for the people to whom their letters and packages were addressed. Across the hall, a large tawny owl soared down to Neville Longbottom and deposited a large parcel into his lap - Harry had once told me that Neville almost always forgot to pack something. Draco's eagle owl landed on his shoulder, carrying what looked like his usual supply of sweets and cakes from his mother. Zephyr landed neatly in front of my plate, a slightly weathered, folded letter in his beak.

Smiling, I stroked the feathers on his chest and took the envelope. It was a bit damp, and I frowned. "You waited in the Owlrey to give this to me didn't you?" I said, he twittered, and I waved him off. "It's fine, I know you hate the rain. Here," I said, holding up a slice of orange, which he squawked at before flying off with it.

Unfolding the letter, I saw that it was another letter from Sirius, just as short as the one given to Hedwig. I read it under the table.

_Lyra,_

_I'm not sure that it's smart to be messing about in other people's lives. Especially their love lives. _

_I'm also still no sure that you should be spending time within fifty feet of any of the Malfoys, much less in their home. Whatever you might like to say on the contrary, they're not good people. Granted I can't speak of my second cousin, but Narcissa can be a piece of work, and Lucius is dangerous. Period. If you listen to nothing else that I say, listen when I say _**_stay away from Lucius Malfoy._**_ He's dangerous._

_As I said in my letter to Harry, I'm flying North immediately._

_Best regards, _

_Sirius_

I sighed before folding it back up and tucking it into my bag.

Draco, who was handing Archimedes an owl treat, raised his eyebrow. "Who's it from?"

I frowned. "Padfoot, whom by the way is being rather vehement that I stay away from your family, your father in particular." Even though Harry had said not to tell anyone, I had told these three anyway, as I knew they wouldn't rat us out. So they all understood when I said Padfoot. "You know why? Or is it just because he used to be a Death Eater?" Draco scowled at the accusation, but gave no rebuttal, instead choosing not to reply at all. I saw Blaise stare hard at his best friend, but ignored it, choosing instead to stand up. "I'm gonna show Sara where the Potions classroom is. Snape would be only too happy to give her a hard time if she's late." I informed them, as I spotted Sara frowning at her schedule, having finished her breakfast. "Coming, Theodore?" I asked.

He glanced at Draco and Blaise, then hastily swallowed the eggs he'd been eating. "Yeah, of course."

* * *

><p>As soon as they'd gone I glared at the Blond in front of me. "For the last time, you have to tell her." I said lowly. "Theo and I have known you since we were kids, so we already know, but she doesn't. Tell her."<p>

He suddenly was angry. "Tell her _what_ Zabini? That my father's a right bastard? I think she already knows that. And besides, what does it matter? Especially while we're here at Hogwarts. He can't get to me here, so there's no reason to bring it up."

I sighed and shook my head. "That's not the point-" He stood up and walked away, towards Crabbe and Goyle. I looked after him sadly. He always did that. Those two oafs were too thick to ever know when something was wrong. They were his lackeys more than they were his friends, so he always retreated to them when he wanted to avoid dealing with realities. He knew I was right, and that he needed to tell Lyra about his problems at home, but he was dead set against involving her. Saying that she would get hurt. Though how he thought that would happen was beyond me.

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><p>Potions class wasn't that bad, and Sara had been left alone by Snape, despite the fact that she'd been sitting with me. I'd noticed that whatever Blaise had said to Draco had put the latter in a foul mood, and that he was paired with Goyle rather than Blaise, who was instead partnered with Theo, who was usually partnered with me.<p>

We hadn't actually done any lab work this morning, instead having to copy down notes as Snape gave us a start-of-term lecture on the curriculum of this year's potions class.

As we left, Sara was giggling quietly. "He's not nearly as bad as you said he was." she said.

I shrugged. "Probably because you're not a Gryffindor. He can't stand them, specifically, he can't stand my brother and his friends."

She chuckled. "Poor things."

I nodded as we reached the entrance hall. "Okay, well, see you at lunch."

"See you." she said, waving as she walked off in the other direction.

As I was walking out the front doors, I made to walk with Draco, but immediately decided not to when I saw that he was walking with Crabbe, Goyle, and Parkinson, who seemed to be permanently attached to the sleeve of his robe, which made me sneer privately at her.

Draco thought she was annoying, and disliked her, but I had known since the day I'd met her that I would _loath_ her. She was too much like Carly, whom, I offhandedly noticed was walking slightly behind the quartet, accompanied by Darrel. I was happy to say he seemed to have transferred his unwelcome affections from me, onto Pansy instead. He didn't seem to appreciate her swooning over Draco either.

Down the sloping lawn next to his cabin, stood Hagrid, one hand on the collar of his enormous black boarhound, Fang. There were several open wooden crates on the ground at his feet, and Fang was whimpering and straining against his collar, apparently keen to investigate the contents more closely. As I and my fellow students drew nearer, an odd rattling noise reached our ears. I could see the Gryffindors already standing around, looking nervous about whatever creature was here. I couldn't stop myself from groaning in irritation. Hagrid had a bit of a liking for dangerous creatures. I walked up beside Harry who was looking down into the crate with ill-masked distaste. And I could easily see why.

They looked like deformed, shell-less lobsters, horribly pale and slimy looking, with legs sticking out at very odd places, and no visible heads. There were about a hundred of them in each crate, each about six inches long, crawling over one another, bumping blindly into the sides of the boxes. They were giving off a very powerful smell of rotting fish. Every now and then, sparks would fly out of the end of one, and with a small _phut_, it would be propelled forward several inches.

"Blast-Ended Skrewts, on'y jus' hatched!" Hagrid declared proudly. "So yeh'll be able ter raise 'em yerselves! Thought we'd make a bit of a class project of it!"

"And why would we _want_ to raise them?" said Draco in a very cold voice, from somewhere behind me. I could hear his two goons chuckling appreciatively. Silently, I cursed Blaise for putting him in a foul mood. What on earth had upset him so? "I mean what do they _do_?" he continued, when Hagrid seemed stumped by the question. "What is the _point_ of them?"

Hagrid opened his mouth, apparently thinking hard; there was a few seconds' pause, then he said roughly, "Tha's next lesson Malfoy. Yer jus' feedin' 'em today. Now, yeh'll wan' ter try 'em on a few diff'rent things - I've never had 'em before, not sure what they'll go fer- I got ant eggs an' frog livers an' a bit o' grass snake - just try 'em out with a bit of each."

"First pus and now this," muttered Seamus Finnegan, one of my brother's house mates.

I frowned and looked at him. "Pus?"

Harry pulled a face. "We were squeezing bubotuber pus in Herbology."

"Ew."

Nothing but deep affection for Hagrid could have made my brother and his friends pick up squelchy handfuls of frog liver and lower them into the crates to tempt the Blast-Ended Skrewts. I couldn't even do that, choosing to levitate them instead; although I couldn't suppress the suspicion that the whole thing was entirely pointless, because the skrewts didn't seem to have mouths.

_"Ouch!"_ yelled Dean Thomas after about ten minutes. "It got me!" Hagrid hurried over to him, looking anxious. "It's end exploded!" said Dean accusingly, showing Hagrid an angry red burn on his hand.

"Ah, yeah, that can happen when they blast off." said Hagrid nodding. I walked over and placed a cooling charm over it as well as a bandaging spell. Too often had I needed to use a bandaging spell during this class. Irritably, I wondered why no one else bothered to learn it. Dean gave me a thankful look.

"Eurgh!" said Lavender Brown. "Hagrid, what's that pointy thing on it?" I rolled my eyes at the very annoying girl. _'_That pointy thing_'_ _eloquent word choice, Troll-brained twit._

"Ah, some of 'em have got stings," said Hagrid enthusiastically. (Lavender quickly withdrew her hand from the box) "I reckon they're the males... The females've got sorta sucker things on their bellies... I think they might be ter suck blood."

"Well, I can certainly see why we're trying to keep them alive," said Draco, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Who wouldn't want pets that can burn, sting, and bite all at once?" Usually I didn't agree with his comments about this class, but for once, I couldn't help but do just that.

"Just because they're not very pretty, it doesn't mean they're not useful." Hermione snapped. "Dragon blood is amazingly magical, but you wouldn't want a dragon for a pet, would you?" _Pansy would, so long as it has blond hair and grey eyes._ I thought offhandedly.

"Well, at least they're small." Ron said as he, Hermione, Harry, and I made our way back up to the castle for lunch an hour later.

"They are _now_," said Hermione in exasperation. "but once Hagrid figures out what they eat, I expect they'll be six feet long."

"Well, that won't matter if they turn out to cure seasickness or something, will it?" I said, grinning slyly at her.

"You know perfectly well I only said that to shut your little boyfriend up." Harry and I both sputtered indignantly, and I felt a blush rise to my cheeks. Hermione ignored us and continued. "As a matter of fact I think he's right. The best thing to do would be to stamp on the lot of them before they start attacking us all."

We sat down at the Gryffindor table and helped ourselves to the food, I saw Sara walk in, and I waved her over. As she was sitting down, I noticed that Hermione was practically inhaling her food. The four of us stared at her.

"Er - is this your new stand on elf rights?" said Ron. "You're going to eat so much that you puke instead?"

"No," said Hermione, with as much dignity as she could muster with her mouth bulging with sprouts. "I just want to get to the library."

_"What?"_ said Harry in disbelief. "Hermione - it's the first day back! We haven't even got homework yet!"

Hermione shrugged and continued to eat as though she were starving. After a minute, she lept to her feet, said, "See you at dinner!" and departed at high speed.

When the bell rang for afternoon classes, I caught up to Theo, walking with him to Transfiguration. "Your little girlfriend is crazy. She was already in the library during the lunch period."

"Girlfriend?" He asked in confusion.

I smirked. "Kinda bushy brown hair, chocolate colored eyes, pretty in a dorky bookworm kinda way? Ring any bells?"

Theodore Nott flushed in embarrassment. "She's not my girlfriend!" He hissed.

"Yet." I said smugly. He did not respond to this, crossing his arms and staring forward, looking very much like a petulant five year old.

Blaise sat down beside me when we got into the classroom. "What's his problem?" He asked quietly, glancing at the black haired boy on my right.

I shrugged innocently. "I have no idea."

After that, classes were pretty boring. I sat next to Sara during History of Magic, but the most we could interact was by passing notes, since Professor Binns was constantly floating past us, and we couldn't hold a decent conversation. In fact, nothing interesting happened until we got to the entrance hall on our way to dinner.

It was then that Sara and I learned what it was that Draco and his two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, had been snickering about during class.

"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!"

"Oh no." I groaned, walking past him to stand with my brother and his friends, whom had stopped to look back at him.

"What?" said Ron shortly.

"Your dad's in the paper, Weasley!" said Draco, brandishing a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ and speaking very loudly, so that everyone in the packed entrance hall could hear. "Listen to this!

**FURTHER MISTAKES AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC**

_It seems as though the Ministry of Magic's troubles are not yet at an end, _writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent._ Recently under fire for it's poor crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup, and still unable to account for one of it's witches, the Ministry of Magic plunged into fresh embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold Weasley, of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office."_

Draco looked up. "Imagine them not even getting his name right, Weasley. It's almost as though he's a nonentity, isn't it?" he crowed. Everyone in the entrance hall was listening now. He straightened the paper with a flourish and read on:

_"Arnold Weasley, who was charged with the possession of a flying car two years ago, was yesterday involved in a tussle with several Muggle law-keepers ("policemen") over a number of highly aggressive dustbins. Mr. Weasley appears to have rushed to the aid of "Mad-Eye" Moody, the aged ex-Auror who retired from the Ministry of Magic when no longer able to tell the difference between a handshake and attempted murder. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Weasley found, upon arrival at Mr. Moody's heavily guarded house, that Mr. Moody had raised a false alarm. Mr. Weasley had to modify several memories before he could escape from the policemen, but refused to answer _Daily Prophet_ questions about why he had involved the Ministry in such a potentially embarrassing scene._

And there's a picture, Weasley!" said Draco, flipping the paper over and holding it up. "A picture of your parents outside their house - if you can call it a house! Your mother could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn't she?"

Ron was shaking with fury. Everyone was staring at him. "Get stuffed, Malfoy." said Harry. "C'mon, Ron..."

"Oh yeah, your sister mentioned that you two were staying with them this summer." the blond sneered. In that moment, I could have punched him for insulting Mrs. Weasley, and even more so for bringing Harry and I into the argument. "So tell me, is his mother really that porky, or is it just the picture?"

"You know _your_ mother, Malfoy?" said Harry as Hermione and I grabbed the back of Ron's robes to stop him launching himself at Draco. I suddenly knew that this would escalate even further, Draco was almost unhealthily attached to his mother. "That expression she's got, like she's got dung under her nose? Has she always looked like that, or was it just because you were there?"

Draco's pale face went slightly pink. "Don't you dare insult my mother, Potter." He said as Hermione, Sara, and I pushed Ron towards the entrance to the Great Hall and away from my fellow Slytherins.

"Keep your fat mouth shut, then." said Harry, as he turned to follow us.

BANG!

Several people screamed, and I saw a flash of orange-white light soar past us. I dove for my wand, fully prepared to duel my 'friend', but before I'd even touched it, I heard a second loud BANG, and a roar filled the entrance hall.

"OH NO YOU DON'T, LADDIE!"

We all spun around. Professor Moody was limping down the marble staircase. His wand was out and it was pointing right at a pure white ferret, which was shivering on the stone-flagged floor, exactly where Draco Malfoy had been standing.

There was a terrified silence in the entrance hall. Nobody but Moody was moving a muscle. Moody turned to look at my brother - at least, his normal eye was looking at Harry; the other one was pointing into the back of his head. "Did he get you?" Moody growled. His voice was low and gravelly.

"No," said Harry, sounding stunned. "missed."

"LEAVE IT!" Moody shouted.

"Leave - what?" Harry said, bewildered.

"Not you - him!" Moody growled, jerking his thumb over his shoulder at Crabbe, who had just frozen, about to pick up the white ferret. It seemed that Moody's magical rolling eye could see out of the back of his head. Moody started to limp toward Crabbe, Goyle, and the ferret, which gave a terrified squeak and took off, streaking towards the dungeons.

"I don't think so!" roared Moody, pointing his wand at the ferret again - it flew teen feet into the air, fell with a smack to the floor, and then bounced upward once more. "I don't like people who attack when their opponent's back is turned." growled Moody as the ferret bounced higher and higher, squealing in pain. "Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do..."

The ferret flew through the air, it's legs and tail flailing helplessly. As it's cries grew louder, I felt my stomach turn over on itself, and I felt like throwing up. Unwillingly, I was reminded of the little boy from the World Cup, who had been spun like a top.

"Never - do - that - again -" said Moody, speaking each word as the ferret hit the stone floor and bounced upward again.

"Professor Moody!" said a shocked voice. Professor McGonagall was coming down the marble staircase with her arms full of books.

"Hello, Professor McGonagall." said Moody calmly, bouncing the ferret still higher.

"What - what are you dong?" said Professor McGonagall, her eyes following the bouncing ferret's progress through the air.

"Teaching." said Moody.

"Teach - Moody, _is that a student_?" shrieked Professor McGonagall, the books spilling out of her arms.

"Technically it's a ferret." said Moody.

"No!" cried Professor McGonagall, running down the stairs and pulling out her own wand; a moment later, with a loud snapping noise, Draco Malfoy had reappeared, lying in a heap on the floor, his sleek blond hair all over his now brilliantly pink face. He got to his feet, wincing. If I hadn't been in a state of shock, I would have run to help him up, despite his cruelty only moments before. "Moody, we _never_ use Transfiguration as a punishment!" said Professor McGonagall weakly. "Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that?"

"He might have mentioned it, yeah." said Moody, scratching his chin unconcernedly. "But I thought a good sharp shock-"

"We give detentions, Moody! We speak to the offender's Head of House!"

"I'll do that, then." said Moody, staring at Draco with great dislike.

Draco, whose pale silver eyes were still watering with pain and humiliation, looked malevolently up at Moody and muttered something in which the words "my father" were distinguishable.

"Oh yeah?" said Moody quietly, limping forward a few steps, the dull clunk of his wooden leg echoing around the hall. "Well, I know your father of old, boy... you tell him Moody's keeping an eye on his son... you tell him that from me... Now, your Head of House will be Snape, will it?"

"Yes," said Draco resentfully.

"Another old friend." growled Moody. "I've been looking forward to a chat with old Snape." And with that, the man walked off towards the dungeons.

Draco looked around at the people staring at him, then stormed off up the stairs. Crabbe and Goyle went after him.

Professor McGonagall stared anxiously after them for a few moments, then waved her wand at her fallen books, causing them to soar up into the air and back into her arms.

I didn't follow when the students all went into the Great Hall, standing off to the side, frowning at nothing in particular as I thought. Sara tugged on my sleeve. "Aren't you coming to dinner?" she asked.

I shook my head as I saw a slightly downcast Crabbe and Goyle walking back down the stairs, apparently having been sent off by their 'boss'. "No, I should find Draco." I said quietly.

Sara scowled. "Boy, Lyra you sure know how to pick them, don't you?" I gave her a confused look, but she simply shook her head. "Never mind. Just go find your idiot."

I nodded, and ascended the grand staircase.


	28. Moody crosses a line

**Oh my gosh! I'm so proud of myself! I've been updating far more often recently. I'm going to try to keep this up, updating at ****_least_**** every weekend, maybe during the week sometimes. :D**

**Ok, so I'm not real proud of this chapter, as it's not my best work, but I needed to give Draco a bit of a weak point, after being humiliated like that, since it's not really mentioned in the book or the movie. **

**REVIEW! Please?**

* * *

><p>I found him in a corridor only a short walk away from the Gryffindor common room. He was sitting on a ledge beside a window, his arm wrapped around his middle, and his eyes still watering. When he heard my footsteps, he looked up, a glare on his face, but it slid away when he saw that it was me. He looked down at the floor, his cheeks coloring again. "What?" he said quietly, sounding as though he were waiting for me to verbally assault him.<p>

Giving him a gentle look, I walked and sat down quietly, facing him. "I came to make sure that you were okay." I said softly.

"And I'm to believe you?" he asked accusingly.

I leaned forward and touched his shoulder, causing him to look up at me. "I'm not saying that humiliating Ron wasn't a cruel thing to do; nor am I saying that you should have tried to curse my brother. But that doesn't condone what Moody did to you back there." I swept his messy bangs from his eyes, seeing how they were ringed in red. "He could have really hurt you. And I was scared that he might have."

He shifted looking away. "I'm fine Lyra. Just a few bruises, nothing I haven't had to deal with before." he said quietly.

I sighed and took his hand. "I don't care. Come on, I think I might have a pain potion in my trunk."

But he stayed stubbornly still, refusing to get up. "I can't go down into the dungeons. Not until Moody's gone." I frowned. "I don't want to risk him attacking me again."

I stared at him for a few moments before abruptly standing. "Wait here." I said, just before I marched down the hall and around the corner, towards the Gryffindor common room. Muttering the password to the Fat Lady, I bolted inside and up into my brother's dorm, and then back out again once I had the cloak. I nearly walked around the corner, just holding it in my arms, but a thought popped into my head, and a slow grin appeared on my face.

Throwing the cloak over myself, I walked around the corner, careful to keep my footsteps quiet. When I was only two feet away, I tore it off myself, shouting at him. "DRACO!"

He let out a very unmanly shriek and fell of the ledge. I couldn't help the laughter that erupted from my throat, causing me to double over in hysterics. "Don't DO that!" he said harshly. But I just shook my head and continued to laugh. "Stop laughing would you!"

I tried to straighten up, still laughing, I grinned at him. "I - I- haha - couldn't _resist_ - haha! B-bloody hell! Your _face_! Haha! You've no idea." I said, trying to calm my merriment.

"Bloody no good-"

"Slytherin?" I offered, grinning slyly at him. He grinned back and shoved me lightly. "Look at it this way, I had a good laugh, and you were forced out of your foul mood." I said.

He ignored my statement, and looked as the cloak suspiciously. "Where did you get that?" He asked, genuine curiosity in his tone.

I smiled and fingered the hem of the fabric. "It was my dad's Harry keeps it in his trunk, under lock and key." I looked up and glared at him for a moment. "If you tell anyone-" I left it hanging.

He held up his hands in surrender. "I wont, I swear."

I nodded, and pulled it back on, holding it up a bit so he could still see me. "C'mon, I say we go down to the common room, I get you that pain potion, and we can play chess or something." He chuckled, but agreed none the less; though he didn't come under the cloak. When I noticed this, I raised an eyebrow. "You getting under or not?"

He frowned. "Will it cover us both?"

I chuckled. "It can cover at least three people and a fox, if that's what you're asking."

"It - oh. Well, that explains a few things..." He said.

"I'm sure that it does, now come on before someone catches me with this." With that statement, he ducked under the cloak, and I let it fall down to cover us. With that, we set off, walking at a decent pace. As we did, I noticed that Draco would wince every now and then, his movements a bit stiff.

"This is bloody strange." He said.

I elbowed him lightly. "It's an invisibility cloak, not a silencing cloak, hush up." I whispered. After that he said nothing. A few minutes later, we were pulling the cloak off just a few feet outside of the common room.

"That's got to be dead useful." He said, walking into the hidden room, heading for one of the many low-backed couches.

I smirked. "Like I'd actually tell you." I teased. "I'm going to go hide this, then get that potion." I told him before I walked around the corner, only to walk back around it less than three minutes later. "Knew I still had some somewhere." I declared, handing it to him.

He smiled gratefully. "Why'd you have it in the first place?" He asked, uncorking the vial and downing it, cringing at the taste.

I shrugged, sitting dow across from him. "I had to brew some a bout a week and a half ago for Sara. She gets really bad migraines sometimes. Usually when she over works herself, but sometimes they come out of absolutely nowhere."

"I see." I looked at him quietly for a few minutes, thoughts twisting around in my head. I didn't notice the uncomfortable look he was giving me until he said something. "Why are you staring at me like that?"

I gave him a sad look. "Why do you feel the need to antagonize my brother and his friends?" I asked. "What did they ever do to you, for you to hate them so much?"

He looked away. "It's not anything that they did or didn't do. Weasley would have hated me anyway, due to our parents, Granger's a mud- I mean, a muggleborn," he corrected himself, after noticing the look I had given him. "And, your brother..." He scowled. "That's a bit more complicated."

"Complicated how?"

He shook his head. "It's nothing. Look, I thought you said you wanted to play chess or something?"

I felt sad that he felt the need to change the subject, but I relented, and leaned forward as he dragged the chess board in the center of the coffee table between us, summoning his chess set from his dormitory as I did the same. After that we simply played a few games, until everyone came back from dinner. Most of the Slytherins ignored Draco, some laughed at him behind their hands. Theo and Blaise were a blessing in disguise for the blonde, as they acted as buffers to the mockery, and eventually they dragged him back to their room so that he could get some sleep.

* * *

><p>The next two days passed without great incident, unless you counted Neville melting what I was told was his <em>sixth<em> cauldron in potions. Professor Snape, who seemed to have attained new levels of vindictiveness since the altercation with Draco and Moody, gave Neville detention. The Gryffindor returned to his common room in a state of nervous collapse, having been made to disembowel a barrel full of horned toads.

"You know why Snape's in such a foul mood, don't you?" Ron said to my brother and I as we watched Hermione teach Neville a Scouring Charm to remove the frog guts from under his fingernails.

"Yeah," said Harry. "Moody."

It was common knowledge that my Head of House really wanted the Dark Arts job, and had failed to get it for what was now the fourth year running. Snape had disliked the previous teachers, but he had been strangely wary of displaying animosity to Mad-Eye Moody, especially after the ferret incident. Indeed, whenever they were seen together - at mealtimes, or when they passed in the corridors - my friends and I had gained the distinct impression that Snape was avoiding Moody's eye, whether magical or normal.

"I reckon Snape's a bit afraid of him, you know?" said Harry thoughtfully. I tuned out Ron's next words, as they were alluding to the incident, again. I did not appreciate that he had taken to calling Draco the 'Amazing Bouncing Ferret' though I was smart enough to keep my mouth shut.

Thursday just after lunch, I walked with an uneasy Draco Malfoy, and our friends Blaise and Theodore, towards the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom. We found the majority of the Gryffindor fourth years already queued up outside. Once the doors unlocked themselves, they rushed to get the best seats, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sitting directly in front of the teacher's desk. My three friends and I took seats a bit closer to the back, almost hiding in the corner. Draco and I sitting between Theo and Blaise.

Despite the school's excitement over having such a famous Auror veteran as a teacher, I was a bit wary about it. From what I'd heard, the man's lessons were intense and not quite censored, making me idly wonder if I'd need my dreamless sleeping potion tonight. I hadn't needed it in a few weeks, and I didn't want to start again.

We pulled out our copies of _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_, and waited, the classroom unusually quiet. Soon we heard Moody's distinctive clunking footsteps coming down the corridor, and he entered the room, looking as strange and as frightening as ever. We could just see his wooden foot protruding from underneath his robes.

"You can put those away." he growled, stumping over to his desk and sitting down. "Those books, you wont need them."

We returned our books to our bags, many people looking excited.

Moody took out a register, shook his long mane of grizzled grey hair out of his twisted and scarred face, and began to call out names, his normal eye moving steadily down the list, while his magical eye swiveled around, fixing upon each student as he or she answered.

"Right then." he said, after calling on Blaise, who was always last. "I've had a letter from Professor Lupin about this class. Seems you've had a pretty thorough grounding in tackling dark creatures - you've covered boggarts, Red Caps, hinkypunks, grindylows, Kappas, and werewolves, is that right?" there was a general murmur of assent. "But you're behind - very behind - on dealing with curses." said Moody. "So I'm here to bring you up to scratch on what wizards can do to each other." Draco shifted beside me, crossing his arms and resting them on the desk, glaring at it's wooden surface. "I've got one year to teach you how to seal with Dark -"

"What're you saying?" Ron blurted up at the front.

Moody's magical eye spun around to stare at Ron; Ron looked apprehensive , but after a moment, Moody smiled - the first time I'd seen him do so. The effect was to make his heavily scared face look more twisted and contorted than ever, but it was none the less good to know that he ever did anything as friendly as smile. Ron looked deeply relieved.

"You'll be Arthur Weasley's son, eh?" Moody said. "Your father got me out of a very tight corner the other day... Yeah, I'm staying for just one year. Special favor to Dumbledore... One year, then back to my quiet retirement." He gave a harsh laugh, then clapped his gnarled hands together. "So - straight to it then. Curses. They come in many strengths and forms. Now, according to the Ministry of Magic, I'm supposed to teach you countercurses and leave it at that. I'm not supposed to show you what illegal Dark curses look like until you're in sixth year." I felt the blood drain from my face. He couldn't be talking about the spells I thought he was. Surely he wouldn't _show_ us things like _that_ in class. "You're not supposed to be old enough to deal with it until then. But Professor Dumbledore's got a higher opinion of your nerves; he reckons you can cope. And I say, you need to know what you're up against, you need to be prepared, and you need to pay attention when I'm talking Miss Brown, put that away."

Lavender jumped and blushed. She had been showing something under the desk to Parvati. Apparently, Moody's magical eye could see through solid wood, as well as out of the back of his head.

"So... do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?"

* * *

><p>As several hands began to tentatively rise, beside me, I saw Lyra stiffen, and her jaw clench. Moody pointed to Weasley, though his magical eye was still fixed on Brown.<p>

"Er, my dad told me about one... Is it called the Imperius Curse or something?" said the witless wonder.

"Ah yes." said Moody appreciatively. "Your father _would_ know that one. Gave the Ministry a lot of trouble at one time, the Imperius Curse." Moody got heavily to his mismatched feet, opened his desk drawer, and took out a glass jar. Three black tarantula spiders were scuttling around inside it. He reached into the jar, caught one of the spiders, and held it in the palm of his hand so that we could all see it. He then pointed his wand at it and gruffly muttered _"Imperio!"_

The spider leapt from Moody's hand and on what was most likely spider's silk, it began to swing backward and forward as though on a trapeze. It stretched out it's legs rigidly, then did a backflip, breaking whatever thread had been holding it and landing on the desk, where it began to cartwheel in circles. Moody jerked his wand, and the spider stood up on two of it's hind legs and went into what was unmistakably a tap dance.

Everyone was laughing, including myself - well, everyone except Lyra and Moody.

Lyra's face was wooden, though her eyes were filled with rage, and another emotion that made my stomach turn. I stopped laughing. "Think it's funny, do you?" Moody was saying. "You'd like it, would you, if I did it to you?"

The laughter died almost instantly.

"Total control." said Moody quietly as the spider balled itself up and began to roll over and over. "I could make it jump out of the window, drown itself... Years back, there were a lot of witches and wizards being controlled by the Imperius Curse. Some job for the Ministry, trying to sort out who was being forced to act, and who was acting of their own free will. Many bad people got off scotch free" His magical eye glared at many of the Slytherins in the room, and I had to suppress a shudder when it passed over me.

Moody picked up the summersaulting spider and dropped it back into the jar. "Anyone else know one? Another illegal curse?" Shockingly enough, not only did Longbottom raise his hand, but he was the one picked. "Yes?" said Moody, his magical eye rolling right over to look at the cowardly Gryffindor. _How_ had he not been a Huffelpuff? Gryffindors may be idiots but they're brave idiots.

"There's one - the Cruciatus Curse." he said in a small but distinct voice.

Moody was looking very intently at the kid, this time with both eyes. "Your name's Longbottom?" he said, his magical eye swooping down to check the register again. Neville Longbottom nodded nervously, but Moody made no further inquiries. Turning back to the class at large, he reached for the jar.

I averted my eyes and tried to tune out the next part. I hadn't grown up without learning about that curse. Not with my father. I was familiar with it in ways that no human or creature should ever have to be. It was a kind of pain that could not be accurately described. One that seemed to radiate from everything, with no exact entry point, and no lesser point.

It was a sickeningly commonplace thing for the Malfoy household.

"Stop it!"

I looked up to see that it was Granger who had spoken. She was standing up, and looking not at the spider, but at Longbottom, who had his hands clenched upon the desk in front of him. Even three rows away from him, I could see that his knuckled were white, and his eyes were horrified. For once, this fear gave me no inclination to tease him. This was a real thing. It was something to fear.

Moody raised his wand. And while the spider relaxed, it continued to twitch. Moody put it back in the jar.

"Pain." he said softly. "You don't need thumbscrews and knives to torture someone if you can preform the Cruciatus Curse... That one was very popular once too." He took out the last spider, and placed it, shivering, in front of Granger. "Perhaps you could give us the next, Miss Granger?" it wasn't a question, as she had raised her hand for the other two.

She hesitated, then whispered _"Avada Kedavra,"_

Beside me, I felt Lyra fidget. But when I looked at her, her face was still expressionless, except her eyes were shut tightly. I tried to remember what that one did, the incantation had a dark feeling that made my stomach twist with dread. "Ah," said Moody, a very cold smile twisting his lopsided mouth. "Yes, the last and worst. _Avada Kedavra..._ the Killing Curse." I felt a lump of ice drop into my stomach, and I found myself staring anxiously at the dark haired girl beside me along with Blaise and Theo.

_"Avada Kedavra!"_ roared Moody, causing me to look back up.

There was a flash of blinding green light and a rushing sound, as though a vast, invisible something was soaring through the air - instantaneously the spider rolled over onto it's back, unmarked, but unmistakably dead. Several students stifled cries; Lyra had gone completely still, her face slightly ashen, and her green eyes open again.

Moody swept the dead spider off the desk onto the floor.

"Not nice." he said calmly. "Not pleasant. And there's no counter curse. There's no blocking it. Only two people have ever survived it, and they're both sitting in this room."

Lyra said nothing, but she laid her head down on the desk, cushioned by her arm. At the front of the room, I noticed her brother was staring at the blackboard as though fascinated by it.

"I feel like I'm gonna be sick." Lyra mumbled. In an attempt to sooth her, I grabbed her free hand under the table and stroked my thumb over the back of it in a repetitive motion. On her other side, Theo reached up and placed a hand on her back. Blaise and I exchanged glances, silently agreeing that Mad-Eye Moody had crossed a line.

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><p><strong>HEY! I wrote this about a week ago, and decided to tack it onto this chapter. It's a snapshot for a future chapter.<strong>

**So, this names no names, but I'd like to see if you can guess. Who is this about? When is this taking place? :)**

**Put your guess in a review, or PM me!**

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><p>"God have mercy." he breathed, staring at her in wonder. As she walked by, I was willing to bet that time stopped for the wizard beside me. He had said before that he thought she was pretty, but he was now staring as though she were a goddess. "And here I thought it bad enough when there was only a part Veela in the room. Yet now heaven hath sent down one of its most beautiful and remarkable angels from on high, to grace the walls of this castle. I, as nothing more than a mortal man, I can but be humbled by her radiance. Had I not known I loved her before this moment, I surely am now."<p>

I smiled at him. It was about time. "Remind me why you didn't ask her out?" I said into his ear.

He shook his head, still not taking her eyes off his beloved witch. "He got to her first."

I smiled again. "Hmm. Well, when next you get the chance, I'd suggest not spouting impromptu poetry, because you're not very good at it."

He shoved me. "Shut up. Shouldn't you be getting back to your boyfriend?"


	29. Beauxbatons and Durmstrang

**I have like no followers on tumblr. The two that I have know me personally and feel obligated to follow me. This is a depressing notion. :'( For those of you who love me (and have tumblr) my username is blueeyes2014 (Because I have blue eyes and will graduate high school in 2014, yes I know that's unimaginative) please become my followers. I love you all.**

**Oh, what the heck, I'm putting up my Pottermore name too. MirrorRose24163**

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><p>Lyra was distant at best for the next few weeks. She wasn't like she would get last year, she would talk if asked something, and she wouldn't blow up at people, but she was always in a bit of a daze it seemed. It wasn't until around a week before the visiting schools were to arrive that I caught her without her mask of indifference.<p>

It was five past two in the morning on saturday. She was sitting on the couch in front of the fire, curled in on herself and sobbing quietly. Once I realized it was her, I rushed over. She didn't even notice me until I spoke.

"Lyra?" I placed a hand on her shoulder, "Lyra, look at me, please." She looked up with a bit of a jolt, as though I'd shocked her. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her face was gleaming in the firelight. She wasn't the prettiest cryer, but I didn't really care. "Lyra what's -" She launched herself at me, wrapping her arms around my middle, and sobbing into my chest. I smoothed my hand over her hair waiting for her to calm down.

That took around five to ten minutes. When she stopped shaking, I tried asking her again. "Lyra what's this about? You should be asleep." I said softly into her hair.

She pulled back slightly, wiping at her face. "I- I had a n-nightmare, I just... My parents... an-and Harry, I..." She shook her head.

I pulled her to me and kissed her forehead. "It's alright" I said, shushing her. "It was just a dream. Nothing more. You're safe now, Lyra." after a moment of pause, I asked, "Why didn't you take your sleeping potion?"

She shook her head. "Ran out. I need to brew some tomorrow, or, rather, today."

I frowned. "You look as though you haven't slept in days, Lyra, weeks if I'm honest. You're not brewing anything. You might blow yourself up."

"But I-"

I silenced her. "I'll do it, after all, I'm just as good as you in potions. Just give me the instructions." She raised an eyebrow, and I rolled my eyes. "Okay, I'm almost as good as you, but that's not the point." I smiled gently at her. "I'll do it."

She stared at me for a good minute, her eyes tired, her breathing still a bit uneven from when she'd been sobbing. "Why?" I started to say that I wanted to help, but she shook her head. "Why do you care so much?"

I hesitated, but covered it by chuckling. "Because you're my friend. Blaise, Theo, Sara, your idiot brother, they'd all do the same if they were in this position. Is that so strange?"

She lowered her eyes. "I guess not." she muttered.

"I suppose that telling you to get some sleep is out of the question?" I said, but she just looked at me. "Er- right. Stupid joke." She nodded. I let out a sigh that turned itself into a yawn. I was still tired, but I wasn't going to just leave her like this.

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><p>The next morning she seemed to have pulled herself out of her funk, though she wasn't as quick with her sarcastic comments, and often got distracted. It wasn't until lunch that she seemed to be able to shake it off entirely.<p>

When we arrived in the entrance hall, myself nursing a burnt hand from dealing with those wretched skrewts last class, we found ourselves unable to proceed owing to the large crowd of students congregated there, all milling around a large sign that had been erected at the foot of the marble staircase. We spotted Blaise standing on his tiptoes at the edge of the crowd with Theo. We walked over.

"What's up?" I asked curiously.

The dark skinned wizard waved me off, still reading. A moment later he stood normally. "Apparently Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be getting here at six on Friday. Classes are ending early, and we have to assemble in front of the castle to greet them before the welcoming feast."

"How're they getting here?" Theo asked, an excited smile on his face.

"Didn't say."

Lyra chuckled. We all turned and looked expectantly. "Mr. Weasley said something to us over the summer at the cup - _always the same, we can't resist showing off when we get together._ Makes the possibilities about their arrival that much more extraordinary."

I chuckled. "Good point. Well, we'll find out in a week, wont we?"

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><p>The appearance of the sign in the entrance hall had a marked effect on the inhabitants of the castle. During the following week, there seemed to be only one topic of conversation, no matter where you went: the Triwizard Tournament. Rumors were flying from student to student like highly contagious germs: who was going to try for Hogwarts champion, what the tournament would involve, how Beauxbatons and Durmstrang were different from Hogwarts. Even the castle itself was undergoing a change, in the form of an extra-thorough cleaning. Several grimy portraits had been scrubbed, much to the displeasure of their inhabitants, who sat huddled in their frames muttering darkly as they felt their raw pink faces. The suits of armor were suddenly gleaming and moving without squeaking, and the caretaker Filch was being so ferocious to students who didn't wipe their shoes that he had apparently terrified a pair of first years into hysterics. The other staff members seemed just as tense.<p>

When we went up to breakfast on the next Friday morning, we found the great hall had been decorated over night. Enormous silk banners hung from the wall, each of them representing a Hogwarts house: red with a gold lion for Gryffindor, blue with a bronze eagle for Ravenclaw, yellow with a black badger for Huffelpuff, and, of course, green with a silver serpent for Slytherin. Behind the teachers' table, the largest banner of all bore the Hogwarts coat of arms: lion, eagle, badger, and snake united around the letter H.

I separated from my 'Silver Quartet' and walked over to my brother and his friends. I had given that name to Draco, Blaise, Theo, and I after they'd taken to referring to Harry, Ron, and Hermione as the 'Golden Trio'. They found the nickname both amusing and appropriate. Gold was such a gaudy color anyway. This statement had made me laugh.

"You know, I bet we could do them, Harry." Ron was saying, as I walked up. "We've done dangerous stuff before..."

"Not in front of a panel of judges you haven't" said Fred. "McGonagall says the champions get awarded points according to how well they've done the tasks."

I folded my arms and glared at Ron. "And besides, I thought we'd agreed that you wouldn't try to get your names in." I said crossly, causing them to jump.

"Oh, Lyra..." Ron said, looking guilty. I glared at him as I sat down. "We weren't going t-" He was cut off by the sound of whooshing and hoots over head, signaling the arrival of the mail. He stopped talking abruptly as a big tawny owl landed on Harry's shoulder, holding out it's leg wearily.

Harry took the letter from the bird, watching as it flew off again. He read over the letter before passing it to me. Essentially it was Sirius notifying us that he was back on the country, and saying to keep switching owls so that no one would look to closely because Hedwig or Zephyr kept swooping in and out of wherever he was hiding. I passed the letter across the table to Ron and Hermione, scowling.

"He's going to get himself killed." I growled to my brother, he nodded.

"We need to hope though. He's made it this long, hasn't he?"

I glared at the table top. "Famous last words." I growled, mostly to myself. I watched Harry take the letter back from the others, fold it up, and stow it in his robes. I couldn't decide if I was more or less worried than before. My brother had a point, Sirius _had_ made it this far without discovery, but it didn't quell the fear in my chest. At least we wouldn't have to wait so long between letters now. Silver lining.

There was a pleasant feeling of anticipation in the air for the remainder of the day. Nobody was very attentive in lessons, being much more interested in the arrival this evening of our foreign visitors. After classes were over for the day, my friends and I hurried into the Slytherin Dungeon to put our school things away, as we had been instructed, pulled on our cloaks, and rushed back upstairs into the entrance hall. The heads of houses were organizing their student's into lines.

"Flint, straighten your hat," Professor Snape barked at Marcus Flint. "Miss Greengrass, get that ridiculous thing out of your hair." Astoria Greengrass, a blond third year who was friends with Pansy, scowled, and removed a large silver and blue, ornamental butterfly clip from her hair. Silently, I felt an irrational smugness at the fact that I was being allowed to keep my silver and green ribbons that I had braided among my hair for the occasion, even though I knew that the two were largely different scenarios.

"Follow me," ordered Snape. "First years in front, and _please_," the way he said it sounded less pleading, and more threatening. "try and show _some_ decorum."

We filed down the steps and lined up in front of the castle. It was a cold, clear evening; dusk was falling and a pale, transparent-looking moon was already shining over the Forbidden Forest. I, standing between Blaise and Draco in the fourth row from the front, saw that the first years were positively shivering with excitement.

"Nearly six," said Blaise, checking his watch and staring down the drive that led to the front gates. "much longer and they're going to be late."

We scanned the darkening grounds with excitement, but nothing was moving; everything was still, silent, and quite as usual. I could feel myself beginning to get cold, and shivered involuntarily. Draco noticed and took a step closer to me, wrapping an arm around me and giving me a small smile. I grinned sheepishly and rubbed my hands together inconspicuously. I hoped that they would indeed arrive soon, dramatic and interesting entrance be damned.

And then Dumbledore called out rom the back row where he stood with the other teachers. "Ahh! Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!"

"Where?" said many students eagerly, all looking in different directions.

_"There!"_ yelled a sixth year, pointing over the forest. Something large, larger than even a hundred broomsticks, was hurtling across the deep blue sky toward the castle, growing larger all the time.

"It's a dragon!" shrieked one of the first years, practically losing her head.

"Don't be stupid... it's a flying house!" said another. Dull though it sounded, this second statement was closer... As the gigantic black shape skimmed over the treetops of the Forbidden Forest and the lights shining from the castle windows hit it, we saw a gigantic, powder blue, horse-drawn carriage, the size of a large house, soaring toward us all, pulled through the air by a dozen winged horses, all palominos, and each the size of an elephant.

The front three rows of students drew back as the carriage hurtled ever lower, coming to land at a tremendous speed - then, with an almighty crash that made a third year jump back and land on Blaise's foot, the horses' hooves, larger than dinner plates, hit the ground. A second later, the carriage landed too, bouncing upon it's vast wheels, while the golden horses tossed their enormous heads and rolled large fiery eyes.

I had just enough time to see that the door of the carriage bore a coat of arms (two crossed golden wands, each emitting three stars) before it opened. A boy in pale blue robes jumped down from inside, bent forward, fumbled for a moment with something on the carriage floor, and unfolded a set of golden steps. He sprang back respectfully. Then, I saw a shining, high-heeled black shoe emerging from the inside of the carriage - a shoe the size of a child's sled - followed, almost immediately, by the largest woman I had ever seen in my life. The size of the carriage, and of the horses, was immediately explained. A few people gasped.

I had only ever seen one other person as large as this woman, and that was Hagrid; I doubted very much if there was an inch difference in their heights. Yet somehow - maybe because I was so used to Hagrid - this woman (now at the foot of the steps, and looking around at the waiting, wide-eyed crowd) seemed even more unnaturally large. As she stepped into the light flooding from the entrance hall, she was revealed to have a handsome, olive-skinned face; large black, liquid-looking eyes; and a rather beaky nose. Her hair was drawn back in a shining knob at the base of her neck. She was dressed from head to foot in black satin, and many magnificent opals gleamed at her throat and on her thick fingers.

Dumbledore started to clap; the students, following his lead, broke into applause too, many standing on tiptoe, the better to look at this odd but beautiful woman.

Her face relaxed into a gracious smile and she walked forward toward Dumbledore, extending a glittering hand. Dumbledore, tall enough by himself, had barely to bend to kiss it.

"My dear Madame Maxime," he said. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

"Dumbly-dorr," said Madame Maxime in a deep voice. "I 'ope I find you well?"

"In excellent form, I thank you." said Dumbledore.

"My pupils," said Madame Maxime, waving one of her enormous hands carelessly behind her. This drew attention to the group of around two dozen boys and girls, all, by the look of them, in their late teens, had emerged from the carriage and were now standing behind her. They were shivering, which was unsurprising, given that their robes seemed to be made of fine silk, and none of them were wearing cloaks. A few of them had wrapped scarves and shawls around their heads. From what I could see of them, as they were in their headmistress's shadow, they were staring up at Hogwarts with apprehensive looks on their faces.

" 'As Karkaroff arrived yet?" Madame Maxime asked.

"He should be here any moment," said Dumbledore. "Would you like to wait here and greet him, or would you prefer to step inside and warm up a trifle?"

"Warm up, I think," said Madame Maxime. "But ze 'orses -"

"Our Care of Magical Creatures teacher will be delighted to take care of them." said Dumbledore "He will see to them just as soon as he has returned from dealing with a slight situation that has arisen with some of his other - er - charges."

"Skrewts." I muttered to Draco with a smirk. He muffled his snort of laugher by pressing the lower half of his face into my shoulder, though even in the dim evening, I could see the merriment twinkling in his quicksilver eyes.

"My steeds require - er -forceful 'andling," said Madame Maxime, looking as though she doubted whether any Care of Magical Creatures teacher at Hogwarts could be up to the job. "Zey are very strong..."

"I assure you that Hagrid will be well up to the job." said Dumbledore, smiling.

"Very well." said Madame Maxime, bowing slightly. "Will you please inform zis 'Agrid zat ze 'orses drink only single-malt whiskey?"

"It will be attended too," said Dumbledore, also bowing.

"Come." said Madame Maxime imperiously to her students, and the Hogwarts crowd parted to allow her and her students to pass up the stone steps.

"How big do you think Durmstrang's horses will be?" I heard Daphne Greengrass ask Carly excitedly, making me roll my eyes. I hardly thought that they would both be arriving in the same fashion.

"Daft bint." I muttered to myself, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Draco smirk, clearly having heard me. I also noticed the death glares that Pansy was sending me, not seeming to pleased about Draco's arm around me. I was inclined to ignore her, but then recalled that I would be sharing a room with her tonight. Clearing my throat quietly, I casually shrugged off his warming arm.

"Everything alright?" He murmured to me.

I smiled. "Just fine, I'm not so cold anymore." I said assuringly, even though I was. It was almost November and we were in the middle of a cold snap.

He was about to say something else, but was interrupted by Blaise, who spoke up. "Do you hear anything?" he asked.

We paused to listen; a loud, oddly eerie noise was drifting towards the congregation from out of the darkness: a muffled rumbling and sucking sound, as though an immense vacuum were moving along the riverbed...

"The lake!" someone from the gryffindor section shouted, if I had to guess by the voice, it was Lee Jordan. "Look at the lake!"

From our position at the top of the lawns overlooking the grounds, we all had a clear view of the smooth black surface of the water - except that the surface was suddenly not smooth at all. Some disturbance was taking place deep in the center; great bubbles were forming on the surface, wave were now washing over the muddy banks - and then, out in the very middle of the lake, a whirlpool appeared, as if a giant plug had just been pulled out of the lake's floor. What seemed to be a long, black pole began to slowly rise out of the heart of the whirlpool... and then we saw the rigging.

"It's a mast!" Theodore hissed from beside Blaise.

Slowly, magnificently, the ship rose out of the water, gleaming in the moonlight. It had a strangely skeletal look about it, as though it were a resurrected ship wreck, and the dim, misty lights shimmering at it's portholes looked like ghostly eyes. Finally, with a great sloshing noise, the ship emerged entirely, bobbing on the turbulent water, and began to glide towards the bank. A few moments later, we heard the splash of an anchor being thrown down into the shallows, and the thud of a plank being lowered onto the bank.

People were disembarking; we could see their silhouettes passing the lights in the ship's portholes. All of them, I noticed, seemed to be built along the lines of Crabbe and Goyle... but then, as they drew nearer, walking up the lawns into the light streaming from the entrance hall, I saw that their bulk was really due to the fact that they were wearing cloaks made from some kind of shaggy matted fur. but the man who was leading them up to the castle was wearing furs of a different sort: sleek and silver, like his hair.

"Dumbledore!" he called heartily as he walked up the slope. "How are you, my dear fellow, how are you?"

"Blooming, thank you, Professor Karkaroff," Dumbledore replied.

Karkaroff had a fruity, unctuous voice; when he stepped into the light pouring from the front doors of the castle we saw that he was tall and thin like Dumbledore, but his white hair was short, and his goatee (finishing in a small curl) did not entirely hide his weak chin. When he reached Dumbledore, he shook hands with both of his own.

"Dear old Hogwarts," he said, looking up at the castle and smiling; his teeth were rather yellow, and I noticed that while his smile was warm, his eyes remained cold and shrewd. "How good it is to be here, how good... Viktor, come along, into the warmth... you don't mind, Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold..."

Karkaroff beckoned forward one of the twenty or so Durmstrang students. As the boy passed, I caught a glimpse of a prominent curved nose and thick black eyebrows. After the world cup, I would have been able to recognize that profile, even without Draco, Blaise, and Theo all hissing the name in unintended unison.

_"Krum!"_

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><p>"I don't believe it!" Theo was saying as the Hogwarts students filed back up the steps behind the party from Durmstrang. "Krum, guys! <em>Viktor Krum<em>!"

"For heaven's sake, Theodore, he's only a Quidditch player." said Lyra with slight amusement.

_"Just a Quidditch player?"_ Draco said, looking at her as though he couldn't believe his ears. "Lyra - he's one of the best Seekers in the world! And he's here at our school!" I noticed the dark haired witch's mouth twitch into a tiny sneer before she masked whatever emotion had caused it. She instead gave my best friend a chiding smile, shaking her head.

We reached the entrance hall with the rest of the Hogwarts students heading for the great hall, I saw a Gryffindor bouncing up and down trying to get a better look at the back of Krum's head. Several sixth-year girls were frantically searching their pockets as they walked -

"Oh I don't believe it, I haven't got a single quill on me-"

"D'you think he'd sign my hat in lipstick?"

_"Really." _Lyra said irritably as we passed the girls, now arguing over the lipstick.

"They have a point though, an autograph _would_ be nice." Theo said, making Lyra roll her eyes.

We walked over to the Slytherin table, Draco made sure to sit on the side facing the doorway, because Krum and his fellow Durmstrang students were still gathered around it, apparently unsure of where they should sit. The Beauxbatons had chosen seats at the Ravenclaw table. They were looking around the Great Hall with glum expressions on their faces. Three of them were still clutching scarves and shawls around their heads.

"It's not _that_ cold," said Lyra defensively. "Why didn't they bring cloaks?" she said, taking the seat opposite Theo, facing away from the entrance. Despite my smugness as I saw the Durmstrangs moving to sit at our table, I noticed that she seemed rather alarmed when she suddenly found herself wedged between Krum and one of his classmates. Draco was grinning, and immediately leaned forward to begin speaking to the Quidditch player.

"You're Viktor Krum, right?" He said. "My name's Draco Malfoy." the thing about Draco, he hated his name unless it had social pull. "These are my friends Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini, and the girl beside you is Lyra." he said, motioning to each of us in turn. I could see Lyra relax a bit when he noticed Draco 'accidentally' leave out her last name. She hated her fame.

"It is nice to meet you." Krum replied.

"My friends and I went to the World Cup." Draco said

"Did you?" Krum said, taking off his heavy furs.

"Yeah, you're an amazing flyer, Theo, Blaise, and I are all on our house team. Though the house cup isn't being held this year because of the tournament. Pity really."

"Vot positions are you three in?" He asked with mild interest.

"Blaise and I are chasers, but Draco is Slytherin's seeker. Best in the school." Theo said brightly. This earned a snort from Lyra, who I noticed was leaning her head on her hand in such a way that her neck was bent so that her scar would not be visible to the Durmstrang beside her. Her green eyes were also shut as though she were sleepy. Draco frowned, and Theo raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh, I'm sorry, did you have something to say Miss 'I think Quidditch is stupid'?"

Lyra opened one eye at him and smirked. "I don't think it's _stupid_, just that there are better things to do then watch other people play a game that I hardly understand past how you score points. And as for your comment about Draco being the best seeker at Hogwarts, no offense, but if that were the truth, then explain to me why Gryffindor has only lost one game since my brother joined the team, and why he always beats Draco to the snitch?"

Draco rolled his eyes, his ears going slightly pink. "Ignore her." He said to Krum. This made Lyra glare at him.

"Vot's all this about houses? Slitherin? Gryffindoor?" asked the Durmstrang on the other side of Lyra, who's name I did not catch when Draco was running introductions a minute ago.

I was about to explain when Dumbledore got up to address the schools. I nodded to where he stood. The Hall went quiet as we waited for him to speak.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, ghosts and - most particularly - guests." said Dumbledore, beaming around at the foreign students. "I have great pleasure in welcoming you all to Hogwarts. I hope and trust that your stay here will be both comfortable and enjoyable. The tournament will be officially opened at the end of the feast," He continued. "I now invite you all to eat, drink, and make yourselves at home!"

He sat down and I saw Karkaroff lean forward at once and engage him in conversation.

The plates in front of us filled with food as usual. The house elves in the kitchen seemed to have pulled out all the stops; there was a greater variety of dishes in front of them than I had ever seen, including some that were definitely foreign.

"What's _that_?" I couldn't help but ask, pointing to a large dish of some sort of shellfish stew that stood beside a large steak-and-kidney pudding.

"Bouillabaisse." said Lyra, filling a small bowel with it.

"Bless you." said Theo.

"It's _French_," she said, rolling her eyes again. "Sara's mom cooks all kinds of weird foreign stuff like this. It's good, you should try it. It's a bit spicy though."

"I think I'll just settle for taking your word for it." I said to her. Theo looked as though he agreed.

After that, Draco relaunched into his conversation with Krum and his fellow Durmstrangs. I explained the concept of houses, and generally we spoke about the differences between schools. Krum wasn't the most talkative person in the world, we quickly learned, but the guy on Lyra's other side, Dimitri, was an animated conversationalist. I did however take note that Lyra seemed rather uncomfortable, pushing her food around her plate, and keeping her eyes lowered. She didn't speak for the remainder of dinner; that is, until Dimitri noticed something she'd been hiding.

"Vot's on your-" he began, touching the collar of her shirt, pressing it down and out of the way, revealing the lightning bolt marking on the lower part of her neck. As Lyra's friends, we had grown accustomed to seeing it, as well as to who she was; and only now, seeing the look on Dimitri's face, and the look on a few other people who could see the scar, did I remember what a big deal she really was.

And then everything happened very fast. Lyra's head snapped up, her face an angry snarl; her hand reached up and snatched the older boy's hand away, bending it back so that he yelped; she partially stood up, her knee on the bench, so that she was towering over the Durmstrang despite the fact that she was technically shorter than him. _"Don't. Fucking. Touch. Me."_ she spat. She then stood fully, and left the Great Hall, causing many people in the room to stare after her in shock and confusion. She stared angrily forward, not looking at anyone. Across the Hall, her twin brother stood, running after her, just as she stormed out the doors.

* * *

><p><strong>Yea... Lyra doesn't like people toughing her scar... I mean really.<strong>


	30. Champions

**Hello all, well, I'm going to be at my little cousin's birthday party tomorrow, so I figured I'd go ahead and bust my butt to finish this chapter and give it to you tonight rather than sunday. Also, I'm not going to lie, I'm not sure how much I'm going to be able to write for the next few weeks, since my schedule is gonna be crazy, since I have color guard tryouts (Trying out for captain, Yay). And then after that I have my SOLs (Standard of Learning tests for those of you who don't know) And of course, then there's the end of the school year chaos. BUT I'LL TRY AND BE CONSISTENT!**

**Now, without further rambling, the thirtieth chapter of The Brightest Star in Slytherin**

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><p>After the fiasco at dinner, I had gone down to the common room and firmly planted myself in front of the fireplace with a book. My cat Nath had curled up next to me. About an hour afterword, Draco, Blaise, and Theo had arrived back with the rest of Slytherin house. They hadn't pestered me and asked why I left, and for that, I was grateful. They informed me about the announcements that I'd missed, regarding the tournament before we slipped into an unrelated conversation over almost nothing. A short while later, we separated to go to our dorms for the night.<p>

The next morning, I woke up late, yawning and stretching, happy as I remembered that it was Saturday. I dressed in jeans and my Ireland sweatshirt before heading up to breakfast. Even if I didn't want to enter, I had to admit, I was a bit jazzed to see the so-called 'goblet of fire'.

Halfway up the stairs from the dungeons to the entrance hall, I ran smack into Theo. As I regained my balance, clutching at the wall to keep from tumbling back down the stairs, I noticed that he was beet red. I raised an eyebrow at him. "Everything alright, Theo?"

He blinked several times before groaning and slumping down onto the stone steps. "No." he said miserably.

I stared at him a minute before I tugged on his arm. "Come on, you can tell me over breakfast. I'm starving." I said. He didn't move. "Okay, would you rather I leave you here for some other person to find?"

He groaned and stood back up. A few minutes later, we had reached the entrance hall. I discovered that as much as the boys had played it up, the goblet really wasn't all that impressive. In fact it would have been completely unremarkable if it weren't for the blue flames that it held in it's belly. Apart from that, it was a plain, a bit roughly hewn, wooden chalice. It also seemed that the Great Hall had transformed over night, and the typical Halloween decor had replaced the houses' representing banners.

Sitting down , Theo immediately poured a cup of coffee, which he only drank when he was already wired. I chuckled. "That bad, hmm?" He nodded. I reached for the pumpernickel bread and the jam. "You going to tell me about this, or am I going to have to drag it out of you?"

He set the coffee down and rested his head on the table, saying something; however all I was able to discern was that he was still very much distressed, and it involved Hermione. I cleared my throat. "I don't know if you know this, Theo, but I don't speak 'mumble-into-the-table'." I informed him, taking a bite of the toast.

He lifted his head and pulled an odd face. "I literally ran into Hermione." I raised an eyebrow, telling him to elaborate. "I was coming down from the Owlrey, after sending he a letter, and I ran into her. She was carrying a box with a bunch of S.P.E.W. badges, and they went everywhere. I helped her pick them up, and then she gave me one, and I- I'm just an idiot!"

I groaned and swallowed a piece of toast. "Oh Merlin's pants. What the hell did you say to the witch?"

He went beet red again. "I, well, I mean - I sort of, um - see, I was-"

"Spit it out!"

"I was sort of staring at her, and well, I mean she asked why and I - argh!" he buried his head in his hands. "It just slipped out! Now she's going to think I'm a freak!"

I pulled his head up by his hair. "What did you say, you idiot?"

"Isdthtshewsreyprty." He muttered.

"Pardon?"

"Isaidthtshewsrlypry"

I kicked him under the table. "Speak articulately."

He sighed, blushing and refusing to look me in the eye. "I said that she was really pretty."

I frowned. "And this is a bad thing why? You do think that, and it's not like Draco said it to her, so there's every chance she'll take the compliment seriously. Besides, you like her don't you?"

He shook his head. "After I said it, and saw the look on her face, I bolted, panicked, freaked out. I don't know how to handle situations like that."

I shook my head. "How the heck did you get sorted into Slytherin? You act like a bloody Huffelpuff half the damn time."

"Shut up, this isn't funny!"

I shook my head. "Never said it was. And if it makes you feel better, I'll do recon this afternoon before the champion selection. Happy?"

"No." he grunted.

"So nothing's changed there then?" He tried to kick me under the table. "Missed."

"I hate you."

"Mmhm, keep telling yourself that. You know for a fact that I'm your best friend."

He glared. "And that's supposed to stop me from hating you?"

I smirked. "We keep friends so that we aren't lonely, we keep best friends because we tell each other the truth." He rolled his eyes and sipped at his coffee again. "So, changing the subject, do you now if anyone has put their name in yet?" I asked, nodding in the direction of the entrance hall, and the cup, as I reached for the pumpkin juice.

He shrugged, glaring at the coffee grounds in the bottom of his cup. "The filters in the kitchens are busted again, I see." He groused.

I rolled my eyes. "That's why I don't drink the coffee normally. Back to my question if you please?"

He set down the mug and shrugged. "The whole Durmstrang lot threw in before breakfast this morning, along with a Gryffindor or two, a Slytherin seventh year, that Cedric bloke from Huffelpuff, and the group from Beauxbatons."

"As if a Huffelpuff could be champion." I chuckled.

He shrugged, then snorted at something funny. "The Weasley twins tried to beat Dumbledore's age line, used an aging potion, ended up with stunning white beards, almost as long as the headmaster's."

I chuckled. "Fred and George, now why am I not surprised?"

Theo raised an eyebrow. "Are they really as bad as you and Hermione make them out to be?"

"Oh yeah." I said. "So where are Draco and Blaise this morning?"

The dark haired boy shrugged. "Who knows. They were arguing about something earlier, but I didn't catch what it was about."

I rolled my eyes. "Those two have been going at it an awful lot lately, what's their deal? Did something happen after the Cup?"

"You got me."

* * *

><p>"Hey Hermione! Hermione!" I had to jog to catch up with her. She was walking along the edge of the lake, toting her usual mobile library of a messenger bag. Glancing over her shoulder, the bushy haired Gryffindor saw me and stopped. I grinned as I caught up. "Thanks for waiting."<p>

She chuckled. "Sure thing. Was there anything you needed?"

I smiled sheepishly. "Well to be honest, I'm supposed to be doing recon." Her face was a question mark. I shrugged and continued. "My friend Theodore fears that he has caused you to think him to be a freak of some kind, with his behavior this morning."

She blushed. "Oh. Did he tell you what he said to me?"

I smirked. "That he voiced his opinion about your appearance? Yes he did. He was really embarrassed."

"I could tell, but, did he mean it? I mean, he wasn't just having a go at me?"

My eyes widened in shock. "Merlin, no! Theo may be a Slytherin, but he doesn't have a hurtful bone in his body. Slytherins are ambitious, sly, cunning, intelligent, resourceful, powerful, and a whole host of other things, but not necessarily cruel, or even mean." I knew I was over selling our house a bit, but I refused to let her think poorly of Theodore Nott.

"Alright, alright. He is an odd little fish though, isn't he?" she said, raising an eyebrow.

I laughed aloud at this. "That's one way of putting it." I said as she sat down on a wide flat rock that was along the shore. "But he's a big softie, really. You'd like him, I think. You have a lot in common."

She hummed. "He took one of my S.P.E.W. badges, you know."

I shrugged, sitting beside her. "So he said, and I'm not really surprised. He might not agree with _all_ your ideas, but he agrees with some. But then he's a bit biased because he was practically raised by his elf."

Hermione scowled. "He has a house elf?"

I nodded. "Lucinda. She's a real sweetheart. And very well treated, mind you. She has a small plush bed in the back of the pantry, three silk pillowcases to wear, a cashmere tea cozy, and sometimes I swear, it's like she's a mother and not a servant, the way she orders Theo around. _Young Master must get up... Young Master must finish his breakfast... Has Young Master remembered to do his summer homework?... Young Master cannot wear that today, it's too cold!_" I shook my head.

Hermione scowled. "But she doesn't get vacations, does she? Or pay? And not all elves are treated so nicely! Remember Dobby's treatment by the Malfoys?"

I raised a finger. "Lucius is a bastard anyway. And I talked to Draco about it, and from what he says, he was pretty decent to Dobby, who will still come when Draco calls for him. Not that his parents are aware of that."

She groaned. "You're missing the point."

I shrugged. "I can agree that the treatment that a lot of the elves receive is abominable, and they deserve better, but the ones that are treated well by their owners, won't want things to change. If Theo's dad decided to up and sack Lucinda, she'd still hang around for Theo's sake, and because she knows he'd miss her."

Hermione didn't respond to that, staring petulantly out at the lake before digging into her bag for a book. "So why'd you leave the feast last night? Harry never caught up with you to ask, you had him worried."

Sighing, I relayed the short but aggravating tale.

"That's just rude though! Even if it wasn't your scar, he had no right to violate your personal space like that!"

"I am avare." said a voice from behind us. I nearly broke my neck turning to see who it was. Krum and Dimitri were standing behind us, Draco was also there, standing a bit behind the two foreigners, arms crossed, and glaring at Dimitri. "I vonted to appogogise for last night. I offten do not think things through before I do them. I vish to ask your forgiveness." he said, bowing slightly.

Hermione and I stood up, and I eyed him warily. I glanced at Draco, who nodded. I guessed he had instigated the apology. Figures. I sighed shortly. "Fine, your forgiven. Now, if you _don't_ mind, Hermione and I were in the middle of a conversation." I said, narrowing my eyes at the pair of Durmstrangs.

"Lyra, you don't have to be rude." Hermione said quietly, but Draco heard, and snorted.

"She has every right to be rude if she wants Granger."

"Draco, for once, leave her alone." I said. I tugged on the Gryffindor's arm. "Come on, lets go." I muttered, pulling her past the three boys who were all taller than us by more than a few inches. I really hated being short.

Offhandedly, I noticed that as we passed him, Krum was staring at Hermione with an odd expression. But I thought nothing of it.

"Ignore Draco." I grumbled once we were out of earshot. "For all his charm, he can be a right prat when it comes to muggleborns. If I have my way though, I'll see that he looks at things differently."

"Is that so?" she asked skeptically. I didn't respond. I really still wasn't sure on how I was going to pull it off. "I'm surprised you forgave that guy."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "If I hadn't it would only have caused problems. Besides, I doubt it was sincere."

"How do you figure?"

I snorted. "Did you not notice the look on Draco's face? He was pissed, even though he was all buddy-buddy with Dimitri last night at dinner. I'd bet you anything that he told that Durmstrang to apologize. Still don't get why Krum was there though."

For the remainder of the day, we chatted about things that were barely important. Even if we didn't want our friends in danger, we were still anxious for the Halloween Feast, or more precisely, the event that would take place after it was over.

When it was time to eat, I sat down beside Theo with a slightly smug grin.

"Well?" he prodded anxiously.

I chuckled. "You should have more faith in me Theodore. I told you you had nothing to worry about. She wasn't upset or anything like that. On the contrary, apart from thinking you're a bit of an 'odd fish' as she put it, she was very flattered."

The boy visibly relaxed. "Thank Merlin. I was really worried."

I rolled my eyes. "Really? I couldn't tell."

"Shut it."

I was about to make another come back when Draco and Blaise sat down, glaring at each other, though they didn't speak. My eyebrows shot up. "Woah, did you two break up or what?" I joked. "What's going on?"

Blaise's mouth twitched into a small, but undoubtably angry and vindictive smirk. "Oh nothing, it's just that Draco seems to fancy his secrets more than he does this girl that he's crazy for."

"Shut it Zabini!" spat the blond dangerously.

I stared at them in shock. "Hey! Could we tone down the animosity? Please? It's Halloween, and the champions are being chosen, we should be excited."

"Whatever." muttered the dark skinned wizard.

"Big deal." grunted Draco.

Theo and I exchanged looks.

The Halloween feast seemed to take much longer than it had last year. Though that could have been for several reasons. One being that it was the second feast that we'd had in as many days, so the extravagant food that I would have otherwise enjoyed wasn't quite as exciting. Another reason was undoubtably because of the thick tension between the two best friends, which made things so uncomfortable that not even Theo and I spoke after they'd sat down. But the biggest reason that it seemed to take so very long was because, like everyone else in the Hall (minus a certain pair of Slytherin boys), judging by the constantly craning necks, the impatient expressions on nearly every face, the fidgeting, and standing up to see if Dumbledore had finished eating yet. Most of us it seemed, wanted nothing more than for the plates to clear, and to hear who had been selected as champion.

At long last, the golden plates returned to their original spotless state; there was a sharp up swing in the noise level within the Hall, which died almost instantly as Dumbledore got to his feet. On either side of him, Professor Karkaroff and Madame Maxime looked as tense and expectant as everyone. Ludo Bagman was beaming and winking at various students. Mr. Crouch however, looked quite uninterested, almost bored.

"Well, the goblet is almost ready to make it's decision." said Dumbledore. "I estimate that it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber" - he indicated the door behind the staff table - "Where they will be receiving their first instructions."

He took out his wand and made a great sweeping motion with it; at once, all the candles except the ones glowing inside the carved pumpkins were extinguished, plunging us all into a state of semi darkness. The Goblet of Fire, which had been moved to stand in front of Dumbledore's seat at the table, now shone more brightly than anything in the whole Hall, the sparkling bright, bluey-whiteness of the flames almost painful to the eyes. Everyone watched, waiting... A few people kept checking their watches...

The flames inside the goblet turned suddenly red. Sparks began to fly from it. Next moment, a tongue of flame shot into the air, a charred piece of parchment fluttered out of it - the whole room gasped.

Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and held it at arm's length, so that he could read it by the light of the flames, which had returned to their blue-white state.

"The champion for Durmstrang," he read in a strong, clear voice, "is Viktor Krum."

"No surprises there!" Theo shouted as a storm of applause and cheering swept the Hall. Further up the table, I saw Krum rise and slouch up toward Dumbledore; he turned right, and walked along the staff table, and disappeared through the door into the next chamber.

"Bravo, Viktor!" boomed Karkaroff, so loudly that everyone could hear him, even over the applause. "Knew you had it in you!"

The clapping died down. Now everyone's attention was once again on the Goblet, which, seconds later, turned red once more. A second piece of parchment shot out of it, propelled by the flames.

"The champion for Beauxbatons," said Dumbledore, "is Fleur Delacour!"

The flaxen haired girl whom Hermione had told me Ron was convinced to be a veela, rose gracefully to hr feet, shook back her sheet of silvery hair, and swept between the Ravenclaw and Huffelpuff tables.

"Oh look, they're all disappointed." I said over the noise, nodding towards the remainder of the Beauxbatons party. 'Disappointed' was actually a bit of an understatement. Two of the girls who had not been selected had even dissolved into tears, sobbing with their heads in their arms.

When Fleur Delacour too had vanished into the side chamber, silence fell again, but this time it was a silence so stiff with excitement I could almost taste it. The Hogwarts champion was next...

And the Goblet of Fire turned red for a third time; sparks showered out of it; the tongue of flame shot high into the air and from it's tip, Dumbledore pulled the last piece of parchment.

"The Hogwarts champion," he called," id Cedric Diggory!"

There were several complaints from my fellow Slytherins, and none of us clapped, but it was an unnoticed thing, as the sound from the next table was too great. Every single Huffelpuff had jumped to his or her feet, screaming and stamping, as Cedric made his way past them, grinning broadly, and headed off toward the chamber behind the teachers' table. Indeed, the applause for Cedric went on so long that it was some time before Dumbledore could make himself heard again.

"Excellent!" he called happily as the last tumult died down. "Well, we now have our three champions. I'm sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real-"

But Dumbledore suddenly stopped speaking, and it was such that no one wondered why.

The fire in the goblet had just turned red again. Sparks were flying out of it. A long flame suddenly shot into the air, and borne upon it was another piece of parchment.

Automatically, it seemed, Dumbledore reached out a long hand and seized the parchment. He held it out and stared at the name written upon it. There was a long pause, during which Dumbledore stared at the slip in his hands, and everyone in the room stared at Dumbledore. And then Dumbledore cleared his throat and read the name aloud.

_"Harry Potter."_

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><p><strong>Not gonna lie here, I very seriously toyed with the idea of Lyra's name coming out instead, or both of them, but decided against that. She has plenty of other drama that I have planned for her, she doesn't need one more giant thing.<strong>

**P.S. Seriously, who else is like in love with Theo and Hermione's potential/fledgling relationship?**


	31. Why?

**I barely got this done, and it's really not one of my best chapters, again I'm sorry. I've been running myself ragged. Not that that's much of an excuse.**

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><p>I couldn't hear a thing besides the pounding in my ears, and my brother's name bouncing around in my head. <em>Harry Potter<em>.

"No." I breathed, feeling fear and something more tumultuous and painful rising up in my chest. I stared across the hall to where I knew my brother sat, I could barely see him in the gloom, but I could tell that he hadn't moved an inch. He was just as shocked, meaning he wasn't responsible. He couldn't be. He just couldn't.

I vaguely heard Dumbledore call him up again, but it sounded muffled by the thrumming in my ears, was that my heart? And as I watched him stumble to his feet, and walk to the side chamber, I dimly realized that I was still muttering denials like a protective mantra. It couldn't be real. It had to be a hoax, a lie. Anything but reality.

I stared at the door as he vanished, and time seemed to blur together. I could hear Dumbledore saying things to the rest of the students, and then noticed in a rather far-away manner, as the rest of the students all got up to return to the dormitories. I could feel someone tugging me to my feet, hear someone saying something that I didn't comprehend. It wasn't until whoever was talking, or holding my sleeve, tried to walk me towards the Hall's exit that I was snapped from my shocked daze.

I tore away from the person tugging my robe sleeve, and ran in a dead sprint for the side chamber's door, where the school's Heads were disappearing, behind Crouch. I dodged around Karkaroff and slid past Dumbledore and the Ministry wizards, barreling into my brother.

"Tell me you didn't." I begged, gripping his shoulders. "Please say you didn't put your name in." I felt like screaming, but could barely croak out the words much less say them any louder.

"I swear Lyra I-"

He was interrupted by Madam Maxime. "What is ze meaning of zis, Dumbly-dorr?" she demanded imperiously.

"I'd rather like to know that myself, Dumbledore." said Professor Karkaroff. He was wearing a very steely smile, and his blue eyes were like chips of ice. "_Tow_ Hogwarts champions? I don't remember anyone telling me that the host school is allowed two champions - or have I not read the rules carefully enough?" He gave a short and nasty laugh.

_"C'est impossible."_ said Madame Maxime, who's enormous hand with it's many superb opals was resting upon Fleur's shoulder. "'Ogwarts cannot 'ave two champions. It is most injust."

"We were under the impression that your Age Line would keep out younger contestants, Dumbledore." said Karkaroff, his steely smile was still in place, though his eyes were colder than ever. "Otherwise, we would have brought along a wider selection of candidates from our schools."

"It's no one's fault but Potter's, Karkaroff," said Snape softly. His black eyes were alight with malice. "Don't go blaming Dumbledore for Potter's determination to break the rules. He has been crossing lines ever since he arrived here -"

"And of course _you_ would say that." I spat darkly at the man, suddenly finding my voice again. "You hate my brother, you've always hated him, me, my whole bloody family! It's not as if you're an unbiased observer here, _Professor_." I made sure to twist the title into as mocking a sound as I could manage. "You're probably loving this, aren't you? Not only is Harry going to be put in mortal peril, you get the perfect opportunity to make him out to be some kind of delinquent. You-"

"Thank you, Lyra." said Dumbledore firmly, and I went quiet, though I still glared at my Head of House. Snape stared back at me, his eyes still glinting malevolently behind a curtain of greasy black hair.

"She shouldn't even be in here." said Karkaroff suddenly, looking at me irritably, coldly. "This doesn't concern her."

"The hell it doesn't!" I shouted.

"Such an impudent child." Madame Maxime said snootily.

I looked at Dumbledore, trying to plead with him silently. He sighed though, saying, "Perhaps you should return to your dormitory, miss Potter, I'm sure that young Harry will inform you of the rest of this at a later date." I started to stutter out a reply, but he cleared his throat. "Now, miss Potter." he said in a firm tone.

I could feel myself shaking with fury and pain and fear, but I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, taking a deep breath, and quelled the need to hit something. Opening my eyes again, I nodded stiffly to the headmaster. I looked behind me at Harry, but I didn't trust myself to speak again. Morphing, I walked slowly and deliberately to the exit, though I couldn't get my hackles to go down.

* * *

><p>"Lyra!" I looked up to see Draco and Blaise already standing, staring in shock as Lyra walked into the room. Several of the other groups of Slytherins who were still up looked at her too. She looked dazed to say the least. She saw the three of us and walked over.<p>

"Lyra," Draco said again.

She gave no indication that she'd heard him. Instead, she fell onto the sofa, crossing her legs pretzel style. She let out a shaky sigh and ran her fingers through her hair. Draco and Blaise sat on either side of her, and I got up to sit on the coffee table in front of her. "Why is this happening?" she whispered, looking down into her lap.

"Lyra, it's got to be a mistake of some kind. Your idiot brother is only fourteen, there's no way they'll let him compete." Draco said.

"Whoever put his name in that cup wouldn't have done it if he wouldn't be forced to compete. A powerful magical object like the goblet will have a binding magic of some kind." she said in a warbling tone.

"Why would anyone put his name in the goblet?" I asked, not sure that I understood.

"People. Die. In this tournament." she said darkly, lifting her head to glare at me. "And, good wizard or not, my brother is ill equipped to deal with things like this. He killed the Basilisk, sure, first year he beat Quirrel, and last year we fought off the dementors. But he nearly always had help. Quirrel only lost because of one of Dumbledore's ideas, The Basilisk he only managed to kill because Dumbledore's phoenix blinded it, and last year, it was both of us and not just him, who drove away the dementors. This time he's all by himself. And someone's after him, _and_ me."

I frowned. "Lyra it could have just been a fluke, it doesn't mean someone's out to get the two of you."

She shook her head. "No, no, _no_. You don't get it, you don't understand." she moaned.

Blaise placed a hand on her shoulder. "Then help us to, you're not making any sense."

The fearful light in her eyes did not die away, instead, she glanced around the common room. "Where are Crabbe and Goyle?" she asked.

Draco frowned. "Um, they went to the kitchens, I think. Why? What does it have to do with-" He stopped when Lyra took his sleeve and mine and began dragging us towards our dormitory.

"Come on Blaise."

"Um, Lyra." I tugged free. "What are you doing?"

She stopped and gave me a strange look. "I don't want to be overheard." Three minutes later, the four of us were settled into the dorm room, and she locked the door, placing not one but _two _different silencing charms on it. She sat down next to Blaise, across from Draco and I.

"Someone _does_ want us dead." She said almost acidly. "The same bastard that's always wanted us dead." And with that, she proceeded to tell us of the recent events which the three of us hadn't known of or hadn't linked. The tale took hardly more than a few minutes. "Don't you get it?" she finally said. "Pettigrew's escape, the nightmare, the Dark Mark, Dumbledore pulling Mad-Eye out of retirement, and now this? There's no possible way that it's all coincidence."

"It's not like the Dark Lord is going to actually come back." I said carefully. "Like you said, in your dream, he wasn't exactly human."

The fear that had been swimming in her eyes before was nothing compared to the look she now wore. She was petrified. "N-no. He... he can't come back." she said, very calm considering her expression.

"No. He cant." Draco said definitively, staring directly at the dark haired witch. "He's dead. Has been for thirteen years."

She dropped her head into her hands, and for several minutes, said nothing. Then, "I don't know if I can keep this up, guys."

"What do you mean?" Blaise asked.

"All of this drama, all the stress. There's always something. If it's not school work, it's a death eater attack, if it's not that, then it's worrying about Padfoot, if I'm not worrying about that, I'm worrying about Harry, if I don't have a reason to worry about Harry, then I'm stressing over mixed signals from the bloke I like. And then of course, there's always Snape, who seems determined to hate my brother and I as though that were his job, rather than being potions master. But even after all that's said and done, I still have to deal with people like Parkinson, Dawson, and their pet boy toy Jason."

"More like an attack dog, that one." I commented, ignoring the way that Draco had stiffened when she'd mentioned liking a bloke. These two really were blind when it came to each other.

"Theo, not now mate." Blaise said.

"I was just trying to -"

"Shut up." the three of them said in unison, and I wisely did as I was told.

"You don't have to do everything on your own you know. And trying to do just that is going to run you ragged." Draco said, leaning forward and placing a hand on her knee. "You've got us, and your prat of a brother, and the Weasel clan, and Granger, _and_ Sara, you're a very much loved witch Lyra. Any one of us would be happy to help you or at least offer ourselves up as a confidant. Merlin knows that Blaise is practically a therapist anyhow."

This got her to laugh. She looked up and gave the blond a weak smile. "Thanks, Dragon."

Draco beamed, I'd noticed that she hadn't called him that in a while.

"So what's this new bit about Professor Snape?" I asked, filling the lull in conversation.

She scowled. "You should have heard him in there tonight. 'Potter's been crossing lines ever since he got here' The man's a bloody nightmare."

"Well you did make that Snivellus comment last year." Draco snickered.

* * *

><p>The four of us talked for well over three hours, Crabbe and Goyle had eventually come knocking, and Theo had told them to bugger off and find someplace else to sleep for the night. I had commented that at least we wouldn't have to deal with Goyle's snores for a night at least, making the others laugh. But finally we did end up tiring.<p>

Theo was the first to complain about being tired, and by that time, it was well past one in the morning.

"I could sleep for a week after all of tonight's food, and the day's excitement." He said, stretching.

"Don't you mean tonight's excitement? Or was your entire day hectic?" Draco teased.

Theodore and Lyra shared a meaningful look. "Yes, it was."

Lyra rolled her green eyes. "That mess this morning was your fault entirely."

"I know, I know, I'm a coward."

"Rightly so." she said.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Well, as interesting as all this is, I can't help but agree with Theo, I'm knackered."

I noticed Lyra's face fall a bit. "Well, I suppose if you're all tired, I'll just leave you to it then. See you in the morning boys." She stood, walking towards the door.

Whatever it was that was off with her, Draco seemed to have picked up on it too. "Are you going to be alright until then?" He asked carefully.

Lyra turned to give him an odd sort of look. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You seem like you're still pretty upset by all this." Theo input, Draco and I nodded.

She shrugged. "I'll be fine, guys. I'll see you in the morning."

* * *

><p>That night, my dreams were of fire, and screaming, and green light. I didn't wake up screaming, but I was drenched in sweat and shivering. Looking around, I noticed that the other girls were already up and had left for breakfast.<p>

I got up, showered, and dressed, trying to calm myself down before I went up to the Great Hall.

When I reached it, I saw that my three Slytherins were already up, and had their heads pulled together, talking. I considered joining them, but saw my brother and made a bee line for him.

Sitting down, I gave him a hard look. "Start talking. _Now_."

He didn't seem surprised to see me, but he seemed almost as tired as I was. "I have to compete. That's what they said anyway. Moody reckon's someone's trying to get me killed. They might have put your name in it too."

"So why didn't mine pop out too?"

He shrugged. "Luck of the draw, if you can call it that. Ron doesn't believe me that I didn't enter, and the rest of the Gryffindors are treating me like some kind of gallant hero."

I snorted and motioned to the mostly empty table of gold and scarlet. "I suppose that's why you took your sweet time coming down to breakfast?"

He nodded. "Of course, the rest of the school is more than a little cross with me."

"Brilliant."

"So, why're you hear so late in the morning?"

I shrugged. "Slept in." I said, avoiding his eyes by reaching for the toast, then paused and withdrew my hand, making a face. "You don't have pumpernickel toast." I complained.

He chuckled. "What, normal bread isn't good enough for you?"

"No, it's just that it's my favorite. I don't have a problem with other bread, it's just not as good. Draco's the same way with green apples." That last bit slipped out before I could stop it.

Harry frowned and raised an eyebrow at me. I looked away, putting a fried egg onto my plate and grabbing a pear. Harry said nothing, and I ate; though he kept staring, not, _evaluating_ me. I was in the process of eating my last bit of egg when he spoke up. "You fancy him, don't you."

I choked on my food. I sat coughing for a minute, trying to breath, taking several sips of water. "W-what?" I gasped out, looking at him.

"I know you do." He said, his frown deepening. "I'm your brother, not an idiot. And it's also pretty damn obvious, now that I think about it."

I snorted. "You're barking. I don't fancy him. He's one of my best mates, but that's it." I said as firmly as I could with my heart beating out of my chest.

"Whatever."

"Have you written to Padfoot about all this yet?" I asked, changing the subject.

He nodded. "First thing I did this morning. I used one of the school owls, and now Hedwig's mad at me too."

I huffed, though I was glad he didn't press the issue. "Zephyr would be too. The pair of them are cut of the same cloth, proud, noble, full of themselves, but mostly dignified."

"I just hope this all blows over soon. I'd honestly almost rather be back at the Dursleys'."

I shrugged. "Things will get better once people get used to the idea of you as champion."

He eyed me dubiously. "Do you think so?"

"I hope so."

* * *

><p>I had been wrong however. As it was again Monday, Harry was unable to continue avoiding the rest of the student body. By the time my fellow Slytherins and I reached Care of Magical Creatures, Harry's face was already sullen, and it seemed that Ron was ignoring him. And while I was grateful that Draco restrained himself for my sake, Parkinson had no such inhibitions.<p>

"Ah, look everyone, it's the champion." She said the moment that my brother was within earshot. She was draping herself over Draco again, I noticed. "Got your autograph books? Better get a signature now, because I doubt he'll be around much longer... Half the Triwizard champions have died... how long d'you reckon you're going to last, Potter? Ten minutes into the first task's my bet."

Crabbe and Goyle guffawed sycophantically, Draco rolled his eyes like he was disinterested, but Pansy had to stop there, because Hagrid emerged from the back of his cabin balancing a teetering tower of crates, each containing a very large Blast-Ended Skrewt. To the class's horror, Hagrid proceeded to explain that the reason that the Skrewts were killing each other was an excess of pent-up energy, and that the solution would be for each student to fix a leash around them and take it for a short walk. The only good thing about this plan was that it distracted Pansy entirely.

I prayed that it remained that way.


	32. Third, I don't like you

**Guess who's going to her junior prom tomorrow night? THIS GIRL! (And speaking of dances, guess what scenes I just finished working on ;D)**

* * *

><p>Of course I'd been dead wrong. Theo was right, I do always lose bets.<p>

Over the next several days, Harry was treated in three extremes. The teachers seemed to be neutral, and his fellow Gryffindors were still treating him like a king. I was sad to realize that my own house was the most vocal of their dislike of my brother, not that it was much of a surprise. The Huffelpuffs had their own champion, but I had hoped that the Ravenclaws would find it in their hearts to support him even a little bit. However, most of them seemed to believe that he had been desperate for a bit more fame, and had tricked the goblet into accepting his name. Indeed, they seemed to think that maybe he had even gotten his Slytherin sister to do it for him. Sara and Luna seemed to be the only Ravenclaws who believed the truth.

And then there was the fact that Harry seemed to be convinced that Cedric looked the part of a champion more than he ever could. Indeed the older boy was quite handsome, with his straight nose, dark hair, and deep grey eyes. It was hard to say who was receiving more praise these days, Cedric or Viktor Krum.

While I had agreed with Harry's assessment of why Cedric looked the part better then Harry did, I disagreed with the reasoning. My opinion was that it was more that he was older and had a more confident air about him. Harry himself had dark hair and a straight nose, and our mother had blessed us both with her striking green eyes. He was younger, and not quite as filled out, but still champion material in his own right.

And then came the day that the badges showed up.

I went most of the day without seeing them, probably because it wasn't until about the middle of lunch that Pansy and Carly had finished them.

When Harry, Hermione and I arrived at Snape's classroom, we found my fellow Slytherins waiting outside. Each and every one of them, not counting Theo and Blaise, were wearing a large badge on the front of their robes. For a wild moment I thought they were S.P.E.W. badges (one of which _was_ pinned to Theo's bag) - then I saw that they all bore the same message, in luminous red letters that burnt brightly in the dimly lit underground passage:

**Support CEDRIC DIGGORY - the REAL Hogwarts champion!**

"Like them, Potter?" said Carly loudly as the three of us approached. "And this isn't all they do - look!" She pressed the badge into her nearly flat chest, and the message upon it vanished, to be replaced by another one, which glowed green :

**POTTER STINKS**

My housemates howled with laughter. Each of them pressed their badges to their chests too, until the message _POTTER STINKS _was shining brightly all around us. In the gloomy hallway, I saw Harry blush scarlet.

"Oh _very_ funny," Hermione said sarcastically, glaring at Carly and Pansy, who were laughing hardest of all. "really _witty._"

Ron was standing against the wall with Seamus and Dean. He wasn't laughing, but he wasn't standing up for Harry either. Blaise and Theo seemed to be trying to become part of the wall, looking very uncomfortable with the situation. However, the person I found myself glaring at directly, was a boy with platinum blond hair.

"Want one, Granger?" said Malfoy, holding out a badge to Hermione. "We've got loads. But don't touch my hand now. I've just washed it, you see; don't wan't a Mudblood sliming it up."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Theo's face twist in ill-disguised anger. But the issue at the moment was Harry. He had reached for his wand and people all around us scrambled out of the way, backing down the corridor.

"Harry!" I said warningly.

"Go on, then, Potter." Draco said quietly, drawing out his own wand. "Moody's not here to look after you now - do it if you've got the guts-"

For a split second, the pair of them locked eyes, then at exactly the same moment, they both acted.

_"Furnunculus!" _Harry yelled.

_"Densaugeo!"_ screamed Draco.

Jets of light shot from both wands, hit each other in midair, and ricocheted off at angles - Harry's hit Theo in the face, and Draco's hit Hermione. Theo bellowed in pain and put his hands up to his nose, where great ugly boils were springing up - Hermione, whimpering in panic, was clutching her mouth.

"Hermione!"

Ron had lurched forward to see what was wrong with her; I turned and saw him dragging Hermione's hand away from her face. It wasn't a pretty sight. Hermione's front teeth - already larger than average - were now growing at an alarming rate; she was looking more and more like a beaver as her teeth elongated, past her bottom lip, towards her chin - panic stricken, she felt them and let out a terrified cry.

"And what is all this noise about?" said a soft, deadly voice. Snape had arrived. My housemates clamored to give their explanations; Snape pointed a long pale finger at Draco and said, "Explain."

"Potter attacked me, sir -"

"We attacked each other at the same time!" Harry shouted.

"- and he hit Theodore - look -"

Snape examined Theo, who's face now resembled something that would have been at home in a book on poisonous fungi. "Hospital wing, Nott." Snape said calmly

"Malfoy got Hermione!" Ron said furiously. _"Look!" _He forced Hermione to show Snape her teeth - she was doing her best to hide them with her hands, though this was difficult as they had now grown down past her collar. Pansy Parkinson and the rest of the Slytherin girls were doubled up in silent giggles, pointing at Hermione from behind Snape's back.

Snape looked coldly at Hermione, then said. "I see no difference." Hermione let out a whimper; her eyes filled with tears, she turned on her heel and ran, all the way back up the corridor and out of sight.

Harry and Ron looked fit to explode with anger, but I silenced them by stepping forward, both because I felt the need to say something, and to keep them from losing points. Snape would never deduct from his own house.

I met the professor's cold gaze, frost for frost. "You're supposed to be a teacher, a _role model_. And yet you not only show blatant favoritism, but you seem to go out of your way to make your students, no matter how young, feel like shit about themselves." I said quietly. Before he could retort, I shifted my attention to Draco. "As for you, I really don't know why I bother sticking up for you when you insist on acting like a bastard." And with that, I spun, morphed, and raced after Hermione.

* * *

><p>Not long after Lyra's little speech, I made my way up to the Hospital wing, not that I needed much of a push to go, my face felt like it had been drenched by acid. When Madame Pomfrey reversed the spell, she suggested that I remain for a while so that she could monitor me. I saw that Lyra was sitting with Hermione on her bed, the latter with tears trailing down her face.<p>

Throwing a glance to the medi witch's office, I got up and went to sit across from them. Lyra looked surprised, but approving, and Hermione seemed confused. I gave a soft smile and reached to cover one of Hermione's hands with my own. "Don't listen to him." I said.

Her brown eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

I shrugged. "I've already told you you were pretty, Granger," I saw something akin to pride flicker in Lyra's eyes. "so you truly must believe me when I say you look nothing like a beaver. Snape's just a toss pot." She chuckled, smiling so that he teeth were showing. I felt surprise light my face. "You don't have buck teeth anymore." I said, then blushed, embarrassed by having that slip out.

Hermione gave an unsure smile. "When she shrank them, Madame Pomfrey told me to tell her when they were back to normal. I just let her shrink them a bit further. My mum and dad will be upset though, they wanted me to get braces."

I smiled widely at her. "You would have looked great even with them." I said. "Though I can say that _I'm_ disappointed. You don't look like a cute geek anymore. Now you're just cute. Not that that's bad or anything I just meant that-"

"Shut up Theo." Lyra said definitively. She gave Hermione an apologetic grin. "You'll have to excuse Theodore, he's a bit of a dork sometimes."

"Hey!" I said indignantly.

Hermione just laughed and shook her head. "It's fine. Better than Ron and Harry anyway. The pair of them can be complete gits without realizing it."

Lyra rolled her eyes. "I wish I could deny it, but my brother _is_ a bit of a prat."

"He's nothing compared to Draco though." I said, though again quite by accident. Both girls seemed startled by my words, but for different reasons. I decided to continue with the line of thought. "Hermione, I'm sorry he said that to you. If it makes you feel better, not all us Slytherins are like that."

She gave me a lopsided grin that made my stomach flop. "I think Lyra said something similar to me in the past."

I grinned. Lyra cleared her throat. "I do believe I should be getting back to class. Even if it does mean returning to what will surely be a few weeks of detention."

The pair of us bid her farewell, and I made to move back to my own bed, fro Lyra left with my courage.

"You can stay over here you know." Hermione said, halting me as I made to stand. I looked at her in surprise, she gave me a small smile and shrugged.

Feeling a bit nervous, I sat back down and returned her smile. There was a bit of awkward silence as we silently grasped for something to talk about. I cleared my throat. "So, you finished Professor Babbling's homework yet?" I asked.

She frowned. "Of course. How did you know I had that class though?"

I felt that as a hit to my pride. "We're in the same class, Hermione. Every Thursday and Friday."

Her face became mortified. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, I hadn't noticed - I mean - um.." She trailed off, bitting her lip like she did when she was thinking hard.

I chuckled. "It's fine." I assured her. "I'm not the most vocal of participants. Besides that, I don't quite have a handle on the more advanced translations yet, so I _can't_ participate."

Her brown and honey eyes brightened. "I could help you if you wanted." she said, almost automatically.

I shook my head. "Really, you don't have to. I wouldn't want to cause friction between you and your friends." She looked bemused for a moment, then burst into quiet giggles. I frowned at her behavior. "What did I do?"

She shook her head and smiled gayly at me. "Nothing. But if anything I would have thought it to be the other way around. Me being a mudblood and all."

"Don't call yourself that!" I nearly shouted, standing up to tower over her. Shock painted her beautiful face, and I realized instantly that that was a bit of an overreaction. Sheepishly, I sat back down and scratched the back of my head. "Sorry, it's just - that's such a mean thing to say to someone, much less when you're talking about one's self. I don't care if you're muggle born or not, Hermione. And truthfully, the only one of my friends who would care is Draco. And he's to whipped by Lyra to do much."

She burst into giggles again. "Malfoy?" she choked out. "_Whipped_? Surely you're joking."

I smirked. "Maybe a little, but he won't risk doing something to get too much on her bad side. Trying to say who I can be friends with would be one of those somethings."

"So I was right, he _does_ fancy her."

I chuckled. "_Fancies _is a bit of an understatement, besotted is more accurate. He's got it bad for that fox of a girl. Pun very heavily intended."

"Good one." She said. "Lyra never told me you were funny."

I shrugged, grinning at her.

* * *

><p>Just as I was turning the corner to go down the grand staircase, I spotted Harry standing with Dumbledore and a witch I knew only from the papers. Gritting my teeth, I adjusted my course, and walked quickly to the three of them. As I walked up behind my rather uncomfortable looking brother, I caught the tail end of what Dumbledore was saying.<p>

"-your description of me as an obsolete dingbat."

Rita Skeeter didn't look remotely abashed. "I was just making the point that some of your ideas are a little old-fashioned, Dumbledore, and many other wizards in the street-"

Unable to bring myself to be polite, and wait for her to shut up, I stepped up and frowned at my twin, who still hadn't noticed me. "Everything all right, Harry?"

The only one who didn't jump was Dumbledore. Harry looked relieved at my appearance, and Rita looked ecstatic. "Lyra Potter, I presume? I must say it's delightful to-"

"I don't believe I was talking to you." I said tersely. I looked expectantly at my brother.

He cleared his throat. "Er, yeah. Is Hermione okay?"

I nodded. "Pomfrey was able to fix the damage, to both her and Theo. The pair of them are still up in the Hospital wing."

Harry's green eyes narrowed. "You left her alone with that Slytherin prat?"

I rolled my eyes and tugged at the green and silver crest on my robes. "For the record, he happens to be a rather kind boy. The only thing you need to worry about is losing the pair of them to the library. He's as much a bookworm as she is." I chuckled.

Harry huffed, rolling his eyes in amusement. "Brilliant."

I was about to say something else when Dumbledore cleared his throat. Blushing a bit, I smiled sheepishly at the man. "Sorry Professor, forgive my interruption. I'll be getting back to class now."

"Not at all, Miss Potter. And if you wish, you may remain with your brother for the weighing of wands. It is about to begin."

I nodded politely, and the three of us followed him into a small classroom. Bagman and Crouch were there, as well as a camera man, along with the other schools' Heads, and the other champions. Standing off to the side a bit was an elderly wizard I had no memory of.

Skeeter sat down in a chair and pulled out a slip of paper and an acid green quill that scribbled something down on the paper without her touching it. A Quick-Quotes Quill. Sara had one in second year at Salem, so that she didn't have to take notes herself. The thing had garbled them horribly, correcting the teacher, commenting on things it had no business talking about, embellishing details so that it was more fiction than fact.

I scrunched my nose in dislike.

"May I introduce Mr. Olivander?" Dumbledore said, motioning to the elderly man as he took his seat with the other judges, speaking to the champions. As I was not really meant to be here, I leaned against the wall beside the door, where I wouldn't be in the way. "He will be checking your wands to ensure that they are in good condition for the tournament."

Olivander was the name of a wand-maker. I remembered Harry telling me that his wand was made by this man. And also the nature of the wand. I had to say, he certainly looked like you'd imagine a wand-maker to be, unlike the witch who'd sold me mine. Old but still beautiful she'd been.

"Mademoiselle Delacour, could we have you first please?" said Mr. Olivander, stepping into the empty space in the middle of the room. Fleur Delacour swept over to Mr. Olivander and handed him her wand. "Hmm..." he said, twirling it between his fingers as though it were a baton, causing it to emit a number of pink and gold sparks. Then he held it close to his eyes and examined it carefully.

"Yes," he said quietly. "nine and a half inches... inflexible... rosewood... and containing... dear me..."

"An 'air from ze 'ead of a veela," said Fleur. "One of my Grandmuzzer's" Oh look another reason to hate the blond beauty. Truly I detested veela.

"Yes," said Mr. Olivander, "Yes, I've never used veela hair myself, of course. I find it makes for rather temperamental wands... however, to each his own, and if this suits you..." He ran his fingers along the wand, apparently looking for scratches or bumps; then he muttered _"Orchideous!"_ and a bunch of blue orchids burt from the wand tip.

"Very well, very well, it's in fine working order." said Olivander, scooping up the flowers and handing them to Fleur with her wand. "Mr. Diggory, you next." Fleur went back to her seat, smiling at Cedric as he passed her.

"Ah, now, this is one of mine, isn't it?" said Mr. Olivander, with much more enthusiasm, as Cedric handed him his wand. "Yes, I remember it well. Containing a single hair from the tail of a particularly fine male unicorn... must have been seventeen hands; nearly gored my with his horn after I plucked his tail. Twelve and a quarter inches... ash... pleasantly springy. It's in fine condition... You treat it regularly?"

"Polished it last night." said Cedric, grinning.

I noticed Harry look down at his own wand, and appear slightly dismayed. I wasn't surprised, I'd noticed that wand up-keep was not exactly a daily ritual of his. He gathered a fist full of his robes and rubbed it's surface. Several gold sparks shot out of the end. Fleur Delacour gave him a patronizing look and he stopped.

Mr. Olivander sent a stream of silver smoke rings across the room from the tip of Cedric's wand, pronounced himself satisfied, and then said, "Mr. Krum, if you please."

Viktor Krum got up and slouched, round shouldered and duck-footed, toward the wand maker. He thrust out his wand and stood, scowling, with his hands in the pockets of his robes.

"Hmm," said Mr. Olivander. "This is a Gregorovitch creation, unless I'm much mistaken? A fine wand-maker, though the styling is never quite what I... however..." He lifted the wand and examined it, turning it over before his eyes. "Yes... hornbeam and dragon heartstring?" he shot at Krum, who nodded. "Rather thicker than one usually sees... quite ridged... ten and a quarter inches... _Avis_!" The hornbeam wand let off a blast like a gun, and a number of small, twittering birds flew out of the end and through the open window into the watery sunlight.

"Good." said Olivander, handing Krum back his wand. "Which leaves... Mr. Potter."

I _really_ didn't like he way Skeeter perked up at mention of my brother. Harry got to his feet and walked past Krum to Mr. Olivander, and handed over his wand.

"Aaaah, yes." said the wand maker, his pale eyes suddenly gleaming. "Yes, yes, yes. How well I remember." He spent much longer examining Harry's wand than anyone else's. Eventually however, he made sparks fly out and assemble into the shape of a phoenix before fading away, then handed it back to Harry, announcing that it was still in perfect condition.

"Thank you all," said Dumbledore, standing up at the Judges' table. "You may go back to your lessons now - or perhaps it would be quicker just to go down to dinner, as they are about to end -"

Glad that something seemed to have gone smoothly today, I shouldered my messenger bag, and picked up my brother's to hand it to him, as he got up to leave. But the camera man jumped up and cleared his throat.

"Photos, Dumbledore, photos!" cried Bagman excitedly. "All the judges and champions, what do you think, Rita?"

"Er - yes, lets do those first," said Rita Skeeter, who's eyes were again upon Harry. "And then perhaps some individual shots." Rolling my eyes, I slouched against the wall again.

The photographer took a long time. Madame Maxime cast everyone else into shadow, no matter where she stood, and the Photographer couldn't stand far enough back to get her into the frame; eventually, she had to sit while everyone else stood around her. Karkaroff kept twirling his goatee around his finger to give it an extra curl; Krum, whom I would have thought would have been used to this sort of thing, sulked, half-hidden, at the back of the group. The photographer seemed keenest to get Fleur at the front, but Rita Skeeter kept hurrying forward and dragging Harry into greater prominence. Then she insisted on individual shots, which went a bit quicker.

And then she tried to get a picture of my brother and I.

"No." I snapped instantly.

She smiled at me in a way that made me feel the need to gag. "Why ever not, deary?"

I gave her a flat look, as the champions and judges watched on uncertainly. "First of all, what would be the point, as your article is meant to be about the tournament. I am neither a champion nor a judge. Second, because I said no. I'm not about to let you attempt to turn my brother and I into some kind of mass-media sideshow. Third, I don't like you."

And with that, I again shouldered my bag, squared my shoulders, and promptly left the room.


	33. Newspapers, Sirius, and Research

**FINALLY! My junior year is OVER! I'm done with Finals, I've passed all my shit, and band camp isn't for a solid three months. I can finally get back to my fiction! And on top of that, I have a new comic book. I'm in a damn good mood! Sorry for the hiatus guys, but I'm back!**

* * *

><p>The next few days were relatively normal, up until Harry received a letter from Sirius. Apparently he wanted to meet with Harry and I in the Gryffindor Tower on the twenty-second. It didn't take much to realize he was planning on floo-calling us. Though I did have to lodge a complaint at the fact that our meeting was to take place at one in the morning.<p>

However, things did take a bit of a turn for the worse, as Skeeter published her 'article'.

Draco and Theo were reading over it when I came to breakfast on Wednesday morning. Seeing the picture of my brother which covered much of the front page, and the snickers that Draco was emitting every few seconds, and the pinched look on Theodore's face, I felt my stomach drop. I sighed in defeat. "What's the damage?" I asked.

Draco looked up, but Theo cut him off, scowling. "Skeeter has painted your brother as a sniveling crybaby who is apparently dating one _Hermione Granger_." Well, at least the scowl made more sense. I groaned. "Oh, It gets worse. You must have pissed her off, because she's tacked in a short, nasty, bit about you."

"Circe can't I catch a break?" I whined.

Theo cleared his throat. _"I suppose I get my strength from my parents. I know they'd be proud of me if they could see me now... Yes, sometimes at night I still cry about them, I'm not afraid to admit it. Though my sister is a big help, as she understands how I feel, as no one else can... She and I both know nothing will hurt me during the tournament because they're watching over me..."_ He turned the page to a different section. _"As for the elusive other half of the famed Potter Twins, it would seem that Lyra Potter is not quite the sensitive angel her brother paints to be. _writes Rita Skeeter, _While the twelve year old refused to give an interview - _Oh, that's just bloody pathetic. Any idiot who can do math knows that you would have to be at _least_ thirteen, since that's when the war ended. - _or stand for a photo, we were able to dig up some information from her fellow classmates. Her fellow Slytherin, Carly Dawson, stated that she is a violent and temperamental witch, having assaulted her in their previous school year, as well as slapping the Malfoy heir across the face in full view of their housemates. We are also told that she is disrespectful and rude to most everyone, with the acceptation of her brother and his friends."_

"Hogwash." Draco spat. "Even my mother agreed that I deserved it, and so did Dawson. And Lyra is _not_ disrespectful to everyone."

I snorted. "What did you expect from Skeeter's gossip column?"

Theo frowned. "What did you do to piss her off so much?"

I shrugged. "I told her I wouldn't pose with my brother for a picture, and then told her I didn't like her."

Draco choked on his pumpkin juice. "W-what?" he coughed. "Are you bloody insane?"

I shrugged. "Screw her, screw her article. I don't care what her readers think of me. The people who matter know it's all a load of dragon dung. My friends know I'm not like that, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley know what I'm really like, and last that I checked, your mother was all but trying to adopt me, Draco."

This made him laugh. "Well she has always wanted a daughter." he chuckled, although it seemed a bit forced. I frowned but ignored it.

"So, speaking of the tournament, do you know when the first task is to take place?" Theo asked.

I frowned. "November."

* * *

><p>It's a strange thing, but when you are dreading something, and would give anything to slowdown time, it has a rather disobliging habit of speeding up. The days until the first task seemed to slip by as though someone had fixed the clocks to work at double speed. My feelings of barely controlled fear for my brother's life was with me wherever I went, as ever present as the snide comments about the <em>Daily<em> _Prophet_ article.

The saturday before the firs task, there was a Hogsmeade weekend.

It had taken almost a half hour of prodding, but Draco and Blaise finally convinced me to go with them to the village. So, grumbling al the time, I walked outside with them, though I morphed once I noticed all the looks I was getting. This was exactly why I hadn't wanted to come. Harry and I both had been getting unwanted attention as of late, though the hype over the article had died down for the most part.

"You know, this is your own fault." Draco said offhandedly. "You're the one who pissed her off." He said, meaning Skeeter.

Blaise snorted. "If she'd given an interview, it would have been just as bad, and you know it." I growled in agreement. "And speaking of pissed off, have you noticed Theo's been acting barmy as of late?"

I snorted, though it went unnoticed by the two boys, as they proceeded to dissect their friend's behavior. Neither of them had any real clue. But I did. Ever since the article had come out, and Skeeter had claimed that Hermione and Harry were an item, Theodore Nott had become paranoid. I had repeatedly told him that they were only friends, but he still seemed uneasy about the whole affair. And of course, it was no help that Ron and my brother were still not speaking, as this meant that Harry and Hermione could often be spotted together, just the two of them. To an objective eye, they almost could look like a couple. Which was what bothered the Slytherin boy so.

When the three of us entered the Three Broomsticks around an hour later, I excused myself from their company to go and speak with Hermione, who appeared to be sitting by herself.

I smiled at her as I sat down. "Hey Hermione, Harry." I added my brother's name in an undertone.

Harry's slightly surprised voice came from my immediate left. "How'd you know I was here?"

I shrugged. "Lucky guess. And besides that, I don't think that 'Mione has quite crazy enough to just sit and talk to an empty chair." I said, smirking at the girl.

The pair of them both laughed lowly. "We saw you come in with Zabini and Malfoy." Harry said, though a hint of bitterness tinged his voice.

I rolled my eyes. "Those two aren't as bad as you seem to think, Harry. Blaise and Theo you'd probably get on with if you ever gave them the chance. Right, Hermione?"

She smiled, nodding. "Nott was surprisingly nice. We've taken to studying together in the library sometimes."

I beamed. "So _that's_ where the snake's been sneaking off to." I chuckled. "Well, good for you two. I knew you would hit it off."

Hermione chuckled. "So thats two to zero in your favor, I suppose?"

I nodded. Harry interjected. "What do you mean, two to zero?"

Hermione smirked. "She thought that Nott and I would get along, and I didn't. And then at the beginning of summer, she set me up with a pen pal, which, I thought was stupid."

"You have a pen pal?"

She nodded. "I don't know who it is though. I've just been calling him Mr. Green and he calls me Ms. Gold. Well, sometimes he teases me and calls me Goldie."

I chuckled. "He didn't tell me about that bit."

She smiled and nodded. "He still hasn't told me who he is thou, and I _know _he knows who I am."

I frowned. "Green's just shy. He's afraid you'll reject him when he does reveal himself."

She snorted. "Well as long as it's not Malfoy."

I rolled my eyes. "Do I look stupid to you?"

"Hang on." Harry said, interrupting us. "You have a _Slytherin_ pen pal, who I know _nothing_ about?"

"Yes Harry, do keep up with the conversation, will you?" Hermione said before promptly taking a sip from her butterbeer, and I giggled, imagining the look on my twin's face at that statement.

"All right, Hermione? Lyra?" said a loud voice behind me. I turned to find Hagrid and Moody walking towards our table.

"Hello." Hermione said, smiling back at them. I myself couldn't bring myself to smile however, as I had an intense dislike for Mad-Eye.

He leaned down and looked at the S.P.E.W. notebook, but I could hear him muttering, and I realized with a shock, that his magical eye could actually see Harry. A moment later, Hagrid pretended to look at the notebook as well, speaking to Harry as he did so.

Once they'd gone, Harry spoke. "Why would Hagrid want to meet me at midnight?" he asked, sounding rather surprised.

"Does he?" Hermione asked, looking startled. "I wonder what he's up to? I don't know if you should go Harry..."

I caught onto her train of thought. Nodding, I muttered. "It might make you late for Sirius."I said, reminding him of the letter that we had received the previous week asking us to meet him in the Gryffindor common room. Hermione went on to suggest sending Hagrid an excuse via Hedwig as to why he would be unable to go. Harry however, decided to go anyway.

I rolled my eyes, standing up and dismissing myself. "Where are you off to?" Harry asked.

I turned and gave Hermione, and my invisible brother a smirk worthy of the green and silver on my scarf. "A Slytherin like me can only spend _so_ much time around Gryffindors such as yourselves." I teased. "I'm off to find where Blaise and Draco've gotten to."

And with that, I walked over to the table in the back right corner of the pub, where Draco and I usually sat when we came here. Sure enough, I found the pair of them sitting together, Draco nursing a butterbeer, and Blaise eating. Beside Draco was a bowl of untouched soup. He smirked when he saw me and motioned to the empty seat beside him.

"I got your usual while we waited for you." He said as I sat down. Well, that explained the soup.

I looked down, frowning, then looked up. "Isn't there usually a sourdough bun with it?" I asked shrewdly, looking at Blaise and not Draco.

The italian boy gave a sniff, turning his nose up. "I don't have the faintest idea what you're talking about."

* * *

><p>That night, I let myself into the Gryffindor common room. Harry had left a little before midnight, and we agreed that I would wait here so that he wouldn't miss Sirius.<p>

"Do try not to be late." I said as he pulled on the cloak.

"I won't be." he said.

While I waited, I read some of a novel I'd borrowed from Theo. After a little while I inspected the _Support Cedric Diggory!_ badges on the table. Hermione had told me that Colin Creevey was attempting to change them to say _Support Harry Potter!_ But at the moment, they were just stuck on _POTTER STINKS _some of them now said _POTTER REALLY STINKS. _I rolled my eyes and went back to reading.

At exactly one 'o clock, there was a sound from the fireplace, and for a moment, the flames turned green. I looked up from the book I'd been reading to see Sirius's head sitting in the fire. My face broke into a wide grin. "Sirius!" I said quietly. "How are you?" I put the book down on the sofa, and moved to sit directly in front of the hearth.

Sirius looked different from my memory of him When we had said good-bye, Sirius's face had been gaunt and sunken, surrounded by a quantity of long, black, matted hair. - but the hair was short and clean now, Sirius's face was fuller, and he looked younger. Much more like how I remembered him when I was a baby.

"Where's your brother?" said Sirius seriously.

It felt like my heart flinched. I tried to keep my easy smile pasted on my face. "Running late." I said. "Hagrid wanted to meet with him, he left about an hour ago. I told him to make sure he was on time, but as you can see," I motioned to the empty common room. "He should be along shortly though."

He frowned. "Why would Hagrid have asked to meet him?"

I shrugged. "Not a clue." Just them Harry burst into the room. I glared. "I _told_ you not to be late, and keep quiet, we don't need the whole of Gryffindor coming down here."

He ignored me, beaming at our godfather. "Sirius, how've you been?" he asked, kneeling down beside me. I scooted over a bit.

"Never mind that, how are you?"

I was beginning to feel extremely ignored. Although in my mind, I knew it was irrational, Harry's situation _was_ more pressing. "I'm -" Harry hesitated, and I was about to rebuke him if he said 'fine' - but he didn't. And then he was suddenly talking more than he had in days. About how no one (but me) would believe that he had not entered the tournament of his own free will (people thought that I'd helped him do it), how Rita Skeeter had lied about him (and to a lesser extent, me) in the _Daily Prophet_, how he couldn't walk down a corridor without being sneered at - and about Ron, Ron not believing him, Ron's jealousy...

"... and now Hagrid's just shown me what's coming for the first task, and it's dragons, Sirius, I'm a goner," He finished desperately. I felt fear bubble up in my throat, but I remained silent. Reaching out, I rubbed his back with one hand in an effort to sooth him, even though I was just as tense.

Sirius looked at Harry, eyes full of concern, eyes that had not yet lost the look that Azkaban had given them - that deadened, haunted look. He had let Harry talk himself into silence without interruption, but now he said, "Dragons we can deal with, Harry, but I'll get to that in a minute - I haven't got long here... I've broken into a wizarding home to use the fire, but they could be back at any time. There are things I need to warn the two of you about."

"What?" I asked, feeling the fear root itself in my stomach. Surely there could be nothing worse than dragons coming?

"Karkaroff," said Sirius. "Harry, Lyra, he was a Death Eater. You know what a Death Eater is, don't you?

"How could we not." I muttered darkly, though it came out as more of a snarl than I'd meant it to be. "How could they let one of _them_ become a school's headmaster?"

"He was caught, he was in Azkaban with me, but he got released. I'd bet anything that's why Dumbledore wanted an Auror at Hogwarts this year - to keep an eye on him. Moody is the one who caught him in the first place."

"Karkaroff got released?" Harry asked slowly, my rage wouldn't allow me to speak. "Why did they let him out?"

"He did a deal with the Ministry of Magic," said Sirius bitterly. "He said he'd seen the error of his ways, and then he named names... he put a load of other people into Azkaban in his place... He's not very popular in there, I can tell you. And since he got out, from what I can tell, he's been teaching the Dark Arts to every student who passes through that school of his. So watch out for the Durmstrang champion as well."

"So are you saying that Karkaroff is the one who put Harry's name into the Goblet? Because that would mean that he's a really good actor. He seemed almost more furious than I was about it." I said.

Harry nodded. "He wanted to stop me from competing."

"We know he's a good actor," said Sirius. "because he convinced the Ministry of Magic to se him free, didn't he? Now, I've been keeping an the _Daily Prophet_, Harry -"

"- you and the rest of the world." Harry said bitterly.

"- and reading between the lines of that Skeeter woman's article last month, Moody was attacked the night before he started at Hogwarts. Yes, I know she says it was a false alarm," he said hastily as I began to speak. "but I don't think so, somehow. I think someone tried to stop him from getting to Hogwarts. I think they knew their job would be a lot harder with him around. And no one's going to look at it too closely; Mad-Eye's heard intruders a bit too often. But that doesn't mean that he cant still spot the real thing. Moody was the best Auror the Ministry ever had."

"And the worst teacher Hogwarts has ever possessed." I found myself muttering.

This seemed to throw Sirius a bit. "What do you mean?" he asked warily, as though he could sense a dark story behind my words. It was obvious that Harry hadn't told him about the curses he'd shown us. And I knew that I hadn't.

"He's not so bad, but our first lesson with him left a bad taste in Lyra's mouth." Harry said dismissivly. And _that_ was the biggest understatement of the year. I looked away, unable to keep my face calm. I shut my eyes, electric green light flashing across my mind, and I could almost hear the rushing sound that accompanied the spell.

"No..." Sirius said slowly. "It's something more than that, or she wouldn't have that look on her face. Lyra what happened?"

I was grateful for the concern, but I was now having to clamp down on my most recent nightmares. "I don't have a look on my face." I deflected.

"Lyra." he said in a sterner tone.

I opened my eyes to look at him, I noticed Harry was looking at the floor. Swallowing past the lump that was suddenly in my throat, I spoke. "He preformed the unforgivables. All of them, right there in the class room." I shut my eyes. "I had hoped to never see that green light again in my life." I said, my voice a bit grainy. "And after that, Moody had the nerve to talk about what - what_ happened_ to us. How we were the only ones to ever survive it, and all that." I shook my head, and tried to focus on not falling apart. _This_ was why I hadn't talked to anyone about it. "I'm sorry, can we talk about something else please? Literally anything else?"

There was a pause before Sirius got back on topic. "I've been hearing some very strange things." he said hesitantly. "The Death Eaters seem to be a bit more active than usual lately. They showed themselves at the World Cup didn't they? Someone set off the Dark Mark..." he paused when Harry and I both shuddered at the memory. "And then - did you hear about the Ministry witch who's gone missing?"

"Bertha Jorkins?" said Harry.

"Exactly... she disappeared in Albania, and that's definitely where Voldemort was rumored to be last... and she would have known the Triwizard Tournament was coming up, wouldn't she?"

"Yeah but... it's not very likely that she'd have walked straight into Voldemort, is it?" I said.

"Listen, I knew Bertha Jorkins," said Sirius grimly. "She was at Hogwarts when I was, a few years above your dad and me. And she was an idiot. Very nosey, but no brains, none at all. It's not a good combination. I'd say she'd be very easy to lure into a trap."

"And Wormtail would have known that too, I'll bet." I said bitterly, remembering how the rat had escaped. "So Voldemort will have found out about the tournament. You think Karkaroff might be here on his orders?"

"I don't know." said Sirius slowly. "I just don't know... Karkaroff doesn't strike me as the type who'd go back to Voldemort unless he knew Voldemort was powerful enough to protect him. But whoever did put Harry's name in that goblet did it for a reason, and I can't help thinking that the tournament would be a very good way to attack you and make it look like an accident."

"Looks like a really good plan from where I'm standing." said Harry, grinning bleakly. "They'll just have to stand back and let the dragons do their work."

"Right - these Dragons," said Sirius, speaking more quickly now. "There will be a way, Harry, you and Lyra are sure to figure it out."

My brother looked doubtful. "Do you think we can?"

Our godfather smirked at us in a way that made him seem almost childish. "You're your father's children, the both of you, and _she's_ a Slytherin."

I glared at him lightly. "I resent that."

"But there is another issue." I raised my eyebrows. "More concerning you, Lyra."

"What do you mean?" I asked warily.

He frowned. "Whoever put Harry's name in that cup, may have put yours in as well."

I nodded. "We'd thought of that, but Harry's was the name that came out, so what else could go wrong?"

Harry groaned. "_Why_ would you say something like that? _Why_?"

Sirius and I ignored him. "They would be after the both of you. The tournament makes it easier to make bad things happening to Harry look circumstantial and expected. But you can still have accidents, Lyra." He said, looking at me seriously.

I felt my eyes widen. "You're saying they might still come after me?"

He nodded grimly. "We can't rule it out. Though I'd still feel better if you would steer clear of that Malfoy friend of yours. Nott as well."

I groaned. "Draco Malfoy won't lay a hand on me. He's a royal prat sometimes, but he's not violent, and certainly no murderer. And Theo is a big softie, he has a crush on _Hermione_ for crying out loud." The last bit slipped out before I could stop it, and I heard Harry make a strangled sound beside me as I clapped a hand over my own mouth.

"He _what_?" Harry said, sounding caught between shock and fury.

However, before he could start in, we heard footsteps on the spiral staircase behind us.

"Go!" I hissed at Sirius, dragging Harry up to sit on the couch, lest we look suspicious, crouching by the fire. "_Go_! There's someone coming!" I said, standing in front of the fire, and in front of Harry - if someone saw Sirius's face within the walls of Hogwarts, they would raise an almighty uproar - the Ministry would get dragged in - Harry and I would be questioned about Sirius's whereabouts -

With a tiny _pop!_ in the fire behind me, I knew Sirius was gone. I watched the bottom of the spiral staircase. Who had decided to get up for a stroll at one in the morning, and interrupted our talk with Sirius?

It was Ron. Dressed in his paisley pajamas, Ron stopped dead, facing me across the room, and Harry turned on the sofa to look at him.

"What are you two doing up so late?" he said.

"What's it got to do with you?" Harry snarled, startling me as he stood up, crossing his arms. "What are _you_ doing down here at this time of night?"

"I just wondered where you -" Ron broke off, shrugging. "Nothing. I'm going back to bed."

"Just thought you'd come nosing around, did you?" Harry shouted. In that moment, I felt bad for Ron. He had no idea what he'd interrupted, he hadn't done it on purpose. But considering how long it'd been since we'd seen Sirius, and that what we'd been talking about, it seemed to be reason enough for Harry to justify hating Ron at the moment.

"Sorry about that," said Ron, his face reddening with anger. "Should've realized you didn't want to be disturbed. I'll let you get back to practicing for your next interview in peace."

Harry seized one of the _POTTER REALLY STINKS_ badges off the table and chucked it across the room. It his Ron on the forehead and bounced off.

"There you go," Harry said. "Something for you to wear on Tuesday. You might even have a scar now, if you're lucky... That's what you want, isn't it?"

He strode across the room toward the stairs; I half expected Ron to stop him, throw a punch or something, but Ron just stood there in his too small pajamas, and Harry stormed upstairs.

When we heard the dormitory door close, I looked back at Ron.

"He didn't mean it." I said, feeling helpless.

Ron glared at the floor in front of him. "Yes he did."

I motioned towards the couch, and after a moment of hesitation, he walked over and sat down, I sat beside him. "No, he's just upset, and over tired." I said. "It's no excuse for what he said, but it is what it is. That reaction was mostly because we didn't know it was you coming down the stairs, and we had to make Padfoot leave." Ron looked at me with shock. I nodded at the fire. "He was on floo call."

"I'm sorry I-"

"You didn't know" I said gently. "You didn't do it on purpose."

"All the same."

I sighed. "He misses you you know." the red-head looked confused. "He's upset that you won't believe him about not putting is name in. Sirius and I both think this is a round about attempt on Harry's life. And the fact that you think he volunteered for something like this, it hurts him. And he hate's that you're jealous of this whole thing - don't try and deny it Ron." I said, when he tried to protest. "Harry never asked for this, any of it. Not the attention, the fame, not the tournament, not the interviews, none of it. More importantly, he misses his best mate, even if he won't admit to it. And I'll bet you miss him to."

Ron said nothing, and I sighed. "Just think about it, Ron." I said, picking up my book and moving to the love seat. "Try to forgive him. Please." I said before opening the book.

* * *

><p>I woke up early, jolting a bit, since I didn't remember falling asleep. Groaning, I rubbed at my neck before cracking it. Sleeping in an armchair was never good for one's spine. Yawning, I glanced at Ron, who had evidently fallen asleep on the couch, and rolled my eyes.<p>

I had to go down to the Slytherin common room before going to breakfast. After changing cloths I went up to find Theo eating oatmeal.

"Morning." he said. I tried to reply but ended up stifling a huge yawn instead. "Long night?" he chuckled.

"You've no idea, mate." I said half heartedly, reaching for the toast.

"How did your talk with Padfoot go?"

I groaned. "It didn't. Apart from learning that Karkaroff was a convicted Death Eater, all that happened was Sirius confirming things we already knew. And he dumped the responsibility of dealing with Harry's dragon problem on me, instead of helping, along with warning me away from you and Draco, again."

"Harry's dragon problem?"

I frowned as I set down my toast. "Right, you don't know. It's the first task. Harry's going to be battling a dragon. They've got four of them hidden out in the forest. One for each champion, all different breeds."

Theo's face brightened, and he started to say something, and I glared dangerously. "Theodore, if you say 'cool' or anything to that effect, so help me, I will tell Draco about your little crush."

His face instantly colored. "Sorry," he muttered, staring into his food.

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Don't be. But seriously, nothing about this is _cool_ it's not even _okay_, it's terrifying. A fourteen year old not even half-baked wizard, verses a full grown dragon? What kind of a match is that?"

"I'm sorry, but_ what_?" We both looked up to see Draco. He grinned at me. "Is that what the first task is?"

I glared at him. "Malfoy, shut up. And don't go telling people, I don't want Hagrid getting in trouble."

He was about to say something, but Theo gave him a look. The latter than spoke to me. "Lyra, you and Harry will figure it out. If you want, I don't have any homework left to do, I can help you research."

I smiled weakly. "Thanks Theo."

He nodded. "So how was your night otherwise?"

I huffed. "Sour. Harry and Ron had a shouting match. And then I was left with damage control. Bright side was I was so tired that I didn't even dream, so no nightmares."

"Silver lining I suppose."

"If you say so." I looked up to see Harry walking in. "I'll talk to you later." I said, standing and leaving behind he an Draco. I intercepted my brother before he reached his table. "I need to talk to you about something."

He frowned. "Can it wait until after breakfast?"

"No." I said bluntly, dragging him back out of the hall by his arm.

Frowning, he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall of the Entrance Hall. "What's so pressing?"

I bit my lip. "Look, don't tell Hermione what I said last night, about Theo, alright?"

Harry's face darkened. "Sirius warned you away from him, just because you're too stubborn to do it, doesn't mean I'm going to let Hermione remain oblivious."

I sighed. "Look, Sirius said that because Theo's dad was an accused Death Eater. But he's not his father, he doesn't even believe in blood purity or any of that crap. He's a really good guy, and honorable. Hermione is in no kind of danger, I swear."

Harry's face showed that he was not convinced. "He's a _Slytherin_."

I narrowed my eyes. "So am I."

"But you're my sister."

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm also a good judge of character. Besides, it can't be one rule for me and a different rule for the rest of my house. Try getting to know him before you judge."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Not likely."

I glared. "Tough. He's going to help us research for the first task later."

"I was going to ask 'Mione for help." He said petulantly.

"And you still can. The two of them are friends. You're the only one who has a problem with him." I told him evenly.

"Because I don't trust him."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh please. If he were in any of the other houses, the pair of you would probably get along famously."

"Not likely." Harry said again.

"Look, you're missing the point." I told him, trying not to sound impatient. "Here's a compromise for you, you can decide wether not not to tell Hermione, but only _after _you get to know him a bit."

Harry looked at me for a long minute before begrudgingly nodding in agreement. "Fine."

"Now you can go eat."

And with that, the pair of us walked back into the Great Hall.

Harry and Hermione went off for a walk after they ate, and I dragged Theo to the library, where we proceeded to pull down every book on dragons that we could find. We then set to work on searching through the rather large pile. After about an hour of working and taking down notes, Harry and Hermione showed up.

"Hey Hermione." Theo said brightly, smiling at the witch.

"Theo, what're you doing here?" she asked in surprise.

"Helping." he said gesturing to the two piles of thirty or so books we had on the table. "This is everything the library has on dragons." He motioned to the smaller, more organized pile. "Lyra and I've already been through these ones, but you're welcome to look again yourself." He then motioned to the papers. "And the notes if you want."

She smiled. "Brilliant." I saw Harry roll his eyes and sit down. from there the four of us set to work.

"_'Talon-clipping by charms... treating scale-rot...' _This is no good, this is for nutters like Hagrid who want to keep them healthy..."

"_'Dragons are extremely difficult to slay, owing to the ancient magic that imbues their thick hides, which none but the most powerful spells can penetrate...'_ But if we can figure out the chinks in their armor, a simple spell should suffice." said Theo at one point.

"Let's try some simple spellbooks, then." said Harry, throwing aside _Men Who Love Dragons Too Much_.

He and Theo left for a few minutes before returning to the table, each with a pile of spellbooks, set them down and began flicking through each of them in turn. Hermione and Theo were currently pouring over the same book, shoulder to shoulder. I smiled to myself.

"Well, there are Switching Spells... but what's the point of Switching it? Unless you swapped it's fangs for wine-gums or something that would make it less dangerous." she said.

"The trouble is though, like the book said, not much is going to get through that hide. And even if you take away the fangs and the claws, it still breaths fire, and it's still got size and strength on it's side. I'd say Transfigure it." Theo responded.

"But with something that big, you really wouldn't have a hope, I doubt even Professor McGonagall... unless you're supposed to put the spell on _yourself_? Maybe to give yourself extra powers? But _they're_ not simple spells, I mean, we haven't done any of those in class, I only know about them because I've been doing O.W.L. practice papers..."

"Hermione," Harry said through gritted teeth, "will you shut up for a bit please? I'm trying to concentrate."

Hermione looked a bit offended, and Theo sat up a it straighter, glaring. "You didn't have to be so rude to her, and she's trying to help you you know."

Harry looked up from the book in front of him, and eyed Theo before speaking. "Watch yourself, Nott." he said darkly.

Theo took a deep breath. "Even so, be nicer to her, would you. And I was talking to, no need to single her out."

Harry stared at him for a moment more before rolling his eyes and looking down at the book again.

Theo and Hermione fell silent after that, and the four of us were quiet for a few minutes before I found something potentially useful. I cleared my throat. "Harry, Hagrid didn't tell you what kinds of dragons they were, did he?"

Harry looked up, frowning. "Some kind of Horntail? A Welsh Green, some Swedish dragon, and a Chinese Fireball."

I looked down at the book in my hands. "Hungarian Horntail and Swedish Short-Snout?"

He nodded. "Yeah, those."

Grimacing, I read bits of the book aloud for him to hear. "_'The Fireball gained it's name from the mushroom-shaped flame that bursts from it's nostrils when angered...aggressive though more tolerant than most...The Fireball will feast on most mammals, though it prefers pigs and humans... The Welsh Green is among the least troublesome of the dragons, preferring, like the Opaleye, to prey on sheep and actively avoiding humans unless provoked...Fire is issued in jets... The Hungarian Horntail, supposedly the most dangerous of all dragon breeds...spikes protrude from it's tail...has one of the longest fire-breathing ranges (up to fifty feet)...feeds on goats, sheep, and whenever possible, humans... The Swedish Short-Snout...The flame that issues from it's nostrils is a brilliant blue and can reduce timbre and bone to ash in a matter of seconds'_" Finished, I looked up from the book, to find the other three staring at me.

"Well." Harry said, voice wavering slightly. "That's encouraging."

"Oh no," Hermione said suddenly, looking past me. "He's back _again_, why can't he read on his stupid ship?" I turned to see Viktor Krum slouching in, he cast a surly look in our direction, and settled himself in a distant corner with a pile of books. "Come on Harry, we'll go back to the common room... his fan club'll be here in a minute, twittering away..."

She started to gather up the books to put them back, but she dropped one of the books. Theo caught it, and took some of the tomes from her. "Hermione, let me help." he said in slight amusement. She blushed and nodded, walking off with him towards where the books had come from.

Harry made to put some of the books away as well, but I stopped him. "Well?" I asked.

He frowned. "Well what?"

I nodded towards the pair of them, who were now out of earshot. "Are you going to tell Hermione or not?"

He was silent for a minute before huffing. "If she get's hurt, I'm holding _both_ of you responsible." he said irritably.

I beamed at him. "Thank you." With that He and I picked up the remaining dragon books and walked over to the shelves. "And don't worry, we'll keep at it tomorrow. We'll solve this."


	34. The first task

**Hello dear readers! Still so happy to be back! So, in this chapter, I've thrown in some fluff to balance out Lyra's fear and panic. Yay! REWIEW PLEASE!**

**Oh, and since I haven't mentioned this in a while: ****_clearly_****, I do not own Harry Potter. Nuff said... though this thought still makes me want to cry.**

* * *

><p>Monday night, I couldn't sleep. I hadn't seen Harry all day except for classes, and I hadn't had the chance to talk to him. He and Hermione had both been missing at lunch, and they hadn't been in the library. I didn't know if he had a plan or not, didn't know if he'd figured out a way to beat the dragon. I was terrified, and shaking with nerves. Unable to remain still, I'd left my dorm room, and walked out into the common room.<p>

The floor was cold on my bare feet, but the fire was still lit. I paced in front of the hearth thinking things over. dozens of scenarios, the different ways tomorrow might go down, the worst things that could happen, they all chased each other in circles around in my head. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts, that I jumped rather violently when the giant squid swam past the under-water windows into the lake.

I jumped again when a voice sounded from the entrance to the dorms. "Lyra?" whipping around, I saw Draco, in black boxers and a white wife-beater, in his hand was his wand, from the tip of which a soft light was shining. He yawned as he walked towards me. "What are you doing up?"

I tried to say something, but nothing would come out. I groaned and basically fell into the leather sofa and buried my face in my hands. He sat down beside me. _"Nox."_ he muttered, laying his wand on the coffee table. "Theo told us about the dragons. Look, if you ever tell anyone I said this, I'll deny it, but your brother is a good wizard. And he's damn resilient." Draco's warm hand rubbed circles into my back. "He'll be fine. Stop over thinking it."

I shook my head. "I can't lose him Draco." I said quietly. "I don't know what I'd do if I did."

"You wont."

I looked up. "But-"

His hand covered my mouth. "You won't lose him, Lyra." He said, looking at me seriously. After a minute I nodded, and he removed his hand. "So why are you out here?"

"I couldn't sleep." I muttered, looking at the fire.

"And coming out here and worrying yourself around the bend was supposed to help with that?" He joked dryly.

* * *

><p>When she didn't respond, I rolled my eyes and dragged the paranoid, anxious, nerve wrecked girl closer to me, so that she had to rest her head on my shoulder. "It'll be fine." I murmured laying my head on top of hers. "You'll see."<p>

Against my bare skin I felt her face warm, and I smirked to myself knowing she was probably blushing due to proximity. Shutting my eyes for a minute, I relished the feeling of her this close to me. Taking a deep breath to try and avoid yawning again, I noticed something I hadn't before. Lyra smelled like raspberries. Raspberries and vanilla. Somehow it seemed to fit.

We sat there for a few minutes before I opened my eyes and lifted my head. "We both need some sleep, Lyra. We should get back to bed." When she didn't say anything, I craned my neck so that I could see her face, and realized with a shock, that she already was asleep.

Her cheek was slightly squashed because it was resting against my shoulder, her eyelids were relaxed, and her mouth was very slightly open. She wasn't snoring, but now that I was paying attention, I could hear her breathing softly. Her face was completely serene. The only indication of her stress were the bruises under her eyes. The perpetually determined set of her jaw was relaxed for the first time since I'd met her. The Lyra Potter with all her worries, all her fears, all her defiance, and all her baggage was gone for the moment. This face was just the face of a pretty fourteen year old girl, who happened to be really really tired. Somehow with all of that gone from her features, she looked younger almost.

The image wasn't perfect by any means, it wasn't enchanting, it wasn't beautiful, and it was not angelic. But it was honest, and it was endearing.

Even if I was romanticizing things a bit, I didn't quite mind. Malfoys were, after all, allowed to do that sort of thing.

Smiling at her for a moment, I sighed and reached for my wand. Conjuring a blanket, I moved, and lowered her to the couch, covering her with the blanket.

"Sleep well." I chuckled.

* * *

><p>I didn't remember falling asleep. But I certainly knew when I woke up. I shot up from my 'rest' breathing hard in a cold sweat, at three in the morning. Nightmares.<p>

Looking around, I realized that I must've fallen asleep in the common room when Draco had been out here with me. Shaking, I shoved away the blanket, and walked to my dorm room, where Pansy and her hyenas were still asleep, Millicent was snoring like a wild hog, as per usual, and Carly was sighing girlishly every few seconds. I hated roommates.

I pulled my cloths and school robes from my trunk and then left for the bathrooms down the corridor from the common room's entrance. At this point, I didn't even care if Snape caught me, he was probably asleep anyway.

The nice thing about the school showers, they never ran out of hot water. I stood there in the water and steam for well over an hour, taking deep breaths and trying to calm myself down. Though my tears did mix with the water more often than I'd have liked.

I couldn't get the images out of my head.

Green lights. Harry on a stretcher. A dragon roaring into the sky. A woman screaming. A green shape in the sky. A child crying. Harry, burned horribly.

So many images, scenarios, they wouldn't leave. I reached up and placed a hand over my scar.

The hot water beat against my skin, working on the knots in my back, even though I knew the relief would be short lived. Breathing in the steam helped me to think clearly, helped to calm me down. The dark green jasper tiles were cool to the touch, compared to the water temperature, serving to keep me anchored when the heat made me dizzy.

When I had finally calmed myself enough to function normally, I shut off the water. I rested my forehead against the tiled wall. "Just get through the day, Lyra. Draco's right, Harry'll be fine." I murmured.

Some of the girls were just starting to come in to begin their own morning routines by the time I'd gotten dressed and towel dried my hair. Spells always made my hair frizzy, but if I let it dry out on its own mostly, it tended to fall in more refined curls. This was the extent of my daily primping, if you could call it that, when you looked at some of the girls came in with their big makeup bags and their wands.

Throughout the day, from the time I sat down for breakfast, and all through classes, my mantra was 'breath, and get through it'. It wasn't until the end of lunch that my nerves became brittle and frayed.

"Lyra, it'll be fine." Sara said, placing a hand on my shoulder. I'd sat with her and Luna during lunch with the hope that my best friend and the perpetually optimistic Lovegood personality would sooth me.

I swallowed down my fear. "I know." I lied.

All to soon, the teachers declared that lunch was over, and proceeded to lead us to the stadium for the first task, situated just inside the Forbidden Forest. Sara had her arm around my shoulder for support. Draco, Blaise, and Theo seemed to appear from no where. Draco took my hand, squeezing tightly in reassurance. None of them tried to say anything to me, and I wondered briefly how I looked. A wreck more than likely.

Harry was only fourteen. He wasn't anywhere near the level of Cedric and the others. And this was a full grown dragon he was meant to contend with. Any confidence I'd had on Saturday in the library had vanished.

We all took seats and waited for the task to begin. We sat in the front row, and I could feel my heart hammering.

After about five minutes, Bagman appeared, and announced what the task was to be. The champions had to retrieve a golden egg from one of four female dragons. But when he announced the order of the champions, and the dragons they would face, my blood ran cold. Harry Potter was to face the Hungarian Horntail.

"Gods above, please let Harry have a plan." I breathed.

Theo rubbed my shoulder. "Hermione wont have let him go in without one Lyra. Harry'll be fine."

I took a deep breath through the nose as the Short-Snout was herded into the arena by several wizards. Vaguely, I recognized Charlie Weasley among them. Once the dragon had planted itself protectively over her eggs, and the added golden egg, Cedric was sent out.

The first three matches seemed to fly by, though they did take up large amounts of time. Despite my friends' cheering and the screams of the stands, and the commentary, I couldn't so much as stand up and participate. Bitterly, I wished that they would take more time, prolong my brother's life.

But the time did come.

When the Horntail was directed into the arena, it could only be described as kicking and screaming. She was _not_ happy. The instant she saw her eggs, she had darted for them, growling menacingly at the dragon handlers.

A few moments later, Harry walked out of the forest. And for a few heartbeats, time stood still. It felt like a vivid dream. All the cheering seemed like roaring in my ears. Anxiously, I stood, biting my lip. _Please..._ I thought desperately.

And then Harry raised his wand and cast a spell. And nothing happened.

Bagman shouted something as a comment, but I didn't hear him very clearly. Suddenly, I was one of the shouting crowd, egging my brother on, encouraging him.

Suddenly from no where, Harry's firebolt came zooming into the arena, and my heart gave a leap. He did have a plan after all!

I screamed my approval with the rest of the crowd as he mounted it. And suddenly, I could hear Bagman's commentary much more clearly.

"I don't believe this, ladies and gentlemen, it would seem that Mr. Potter might be about to try and out-fly his dragon!"

Harry kicked off and soared high in the air, I felt myself grinning uncontrollably. Harry was an amazing flyer, probably the only person better at the school right now was Krum. He dived. The Horntail's head followed him; Harry pulled out of the dive just in time; a jet of fire had been released exactly where he would have been had he not swerved away... But despite this, Harry didn't seem to be afraid. It looked as though he'd dodged a Bludger rather than death.

"Great Scott, he can fly!" yelled Bagman as the crowd shrieked and gasped. "Are you watching this, Mr. Krum?"

I cheered and whistled as Harry soared higher in a circle; the Horntail was still following his progress; it's had revolving on it's long neck - he was trying to make it dizzy, I realized - but if he pushed too long, it would breath fire again.

Harry plummeted just as the Horntail opened it's mouth, but this time he was less lucky - he missed the flames, but the tail came whipping up to meet him instead, and as he swerved to the left, one of the long spikes hit his shoulder, and tore his robes. I felt my throat hurt as I screamed in denial, but Harry continued, unfazed. Instead, he zoomed around the back of the dragon.

Now Harry seemed to have changed tactics. He began to fly, first this way, then the other, not near enough to make her breath fire to stave him off, but still posing a sufficient threat to ensure she kept her eyes on him. Her head swayed this way and that, watching him out of those vertical pupils, her fangs bared... He flew higher. The Horntail's head rose with him, her neck now stretched to it's fullest extent, still swaying, like a snake before it's charmer...

He rose a few more feet, and she let out a roar of frustration. He like a fly she longed to swat, but was far too high for her to reach now. I felt my eyes widen, and I found myself tugging on Sara's sleeve. "He's trying to make her rear up!" I shouted over the din of the crowd.

The dragon shot fire into the air, which Harry easily dodged... Her jaws opened wide... Harry swerved tantalizingly above her. My heart pounded in anticipation... And then she reared, spreading her great, black, leathery wings at last - and Harry dove. Before the dragon knew what he had done, or where he had disappeared to, he was speeding towards the ground at breakneck speed, towards the eggs now unprotected by her clawed front legs - and he seized the golden egg from among it's granite colored brethren.

And with a huge burst of speed, he was off, he was soaring out over the stands, the egg tucked safely under his uninjured arm. I screamed with the rest of the crowd, applauding, and feeling tears of relief flow down my face. The elephant that had been sitting on my chest was gone and I found myself happy, and screaming my lungs out for all the cheering I was doing.

"Look at that!" Bagman was yelling. "Will you look at that! Our youngest champion is quickest to get his egg! Well this is going to shorten the odds on Mr. Potter!"

The dragon keepers rushed forwards to subdue the Horntail, and, over at the entrance to the enclosed arena, I could see Professors McGonagall, Moody, and Hagrid hurrying to meet Harry. All of them were waving and smiling.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Ron and Hermione weaving towards us through the crowd. I beamed at him. "That was brilliant!" I shouted once they got close enough. "Who's idea was that?" I asked Hermione.

"Moody's" Hermione said. "We had to work on his Summoning Charm a bit, but other than that..." she grinned broadly.

I grinned back at her. "So _that's_ where you two went yesterday!"

She nodded vigorously. "We're going down to the first aid tent." she said.

"Sara and I'll come with you!" I said, tugging on the Ravenclaw's robe. She nodded eagerly.

It took a bit of work to get through the crowd, but when we escaped the throng, the four of us bolted for the purple tent. When we got inside we were met with Harry, who was about to leave.

"Harry, you were brilliant!" I said brightly, rushing to him and yanking him into a tight hug. "Absolutely amazing, you were! Incredible!"

"You told me you were on the Quidditch team, but you never said you could fly like _that_, Harry." I heard Sara comment from behind me. I pulled away and beamed around at everyone, unable to help my goofy smile.

"Thanks." Harry chuckled.

"Harry," Ron said very seriously, his face very white, and he was looking at Harry as though he were a ghost. "whoever put your name in the goblet - I - I reckon that they were trying to do you in!"

And then it seemed like ice settled in the air around us. "Caught on have you?" said Harry coldly. "Took you long enough." Sara, Hermione and I stood, staring nervously between the two. Ron opened his mouth uncertainly, about to apologize. "It's okay." Harry said before Ron could get the words out. "Forget it."

"No," said Ron. "I shouldn't have-"

_"Forget it,"_ Harry said.

Ron grinned nervously at him, and Harry grinned back.

Hermione chose this moment to burst into tears.

"There's nothing to cry about!" Harry told her, bewildered.

"You two are so _stupid_!" she shouted, stamping her foot on the ground, tears splashing down he front. Then, before either of them could stop her, she had given both of them a hug and dashed away, now positively howling.

"Barking mad." said Ron, shaking his head. "Harry c'mon, they'll be putting up your scores..."

Picking up the golden egg and his Firebolt, looking elated, and ducked out of the tent, Ron at his side, talking fast.

I stared after them, then shared a glance with Sara. And before I knew it, I'd busted out laughing. It was just so _absurd_, all of it. Sara laughed with me, and once we'd calmed ourselves (and earned slightly concerned looks from Pomfrey) we followed the pair out.

We reached the stands just as the first judge - Madame Maxime - raised her wand into the air. What looked like a long silver ribbon shot out of it, which twisted itself into a large figure eight.

"Not bad!" Sara said, clapping Harry on the back as the crowd applauded. "I suppose she took off points for your shoulder though..."

Mr Crouch was next. He shot a number nine into the air.

"Looking good!" I said happily.

Next, Dumbledore. He too put up a nine. The crowd was cheering louder than ever.

Ludo Bagman - _ten._

"Ten?" said Harry in disbelief. "But... I got hurt... what's he playing at?"

"Harry don't complain!" Ron yelled excitedly.

And now, Karkaroff raised his wand. He paused for a moment, and then a number shot out of his wand as well - four.

_"What?_" Ron bellowed furiously. "_Four?_ You lousy, biased scumbag, you gave Krum ten!"

Harry didn't seem to care, He seemed content that Ron was indignant on his behalf. I smiled. The Dynamic Duo was whole again.

"You're tied for first place, Harry! You and Krum!" said Charlie Weasley, hurrying over to meet us as we set off back toward the school. "Listen, I've got to run, I've got to go and send Mum an owl, I swore I'd tell her what happened - but that was unbelievable! Oh yeah - and they told me you've got to hang around for a few more minutes... Bagman wants a word, back in the champions' tent."

Ron, Sara, and I agreed that we would wait, and Harry went back to the purple tent. Not long afterword, Ludo Bagman bounced over as well.

"That man's a nutter, I swear." I muttered, making the other two laugh.

"Lyra!" I turned to see Blaise and Theo hurrying over. Turning to face them, I got caught in the tight hugs of two Quidditch Chasers. "Told you everything'd be fine!" Theo said, letting me go.

I chuckled at him. "Sorry I was so frantic." I chuckled.

"He was great though." Blaise said, grinning. "You're brother could very well give Krum a run for his money."

"Brilliant, could you leave now?" Ron said, drawing attention to him, and the sour look on his face.

I rolled my eyes and put my hands on my hips. "They're my friends, Ron. And as I keep telling you and Harry, Draco may well be a prat, but these two you would probably get on with."

"Nott actually isn't so bad." Said a voice, We turned to see Harry coming back from the tent. "Unless you count him being a male Hermione."

"Oh, give me a break." Theo chuckled, then grinned at my brother. "Spectacular flying, by the way."

Harry looked a bit surprised at the complement, but took it with grace. "Thanks."

"If only Lyra was as good, we might stand a better chance against Gryffindor next year." Blaise half-joked. From Sara's reaction, however, you'd have thought that it was the joke of the century. She let out a long laugh, the kind that a person could feel beginning in their stomach and erupting from their mouths. Blaise looked bewildered. "What did I say?"

Sara shook her head as she tried to contain herself, wiping at her eyes, she stood up straight, still giggling. "Lyra? On a _broomstick_? And playing Quidditch no less? Now _that_ I would pay good money to see." My friends looked from her to me with slight confusion. I suddenly noticed how interesting the red and orange pattern of a leaf on the ground was.

"Wha'd you mean?" Theo asked.

"Lyra hates flying. Like, sincerely hates it. She's _terrified_ of heights. She once told me she was even hoping she wouldn't get too tall." Sara laughed.

I looked up and glared at her. "Thank you Sara Burke. Can we go now?"

"You're afraid of getting tall?" Harry snickered.

I glared at him, not dignifying him with a response. Squaring my shoulders, I walked towards the castle, not bothering to wait for them. I could hear them all laughing at my behavior. I knew it was all in good fun though.

After dinner that evening, I sighed happily, folding my arms on the table in front of me.

Draco chuckled. "Are you sure you're alright? You've barely eaten anything."

I shrugged. "Fred and George are probably going to nick food from the kitchens for the celebration party that's probably going to go down in the Gryffindor common room tonight. And by probably, I mean they will and McGonagall will end up sending us all to bed at around four in the morning."

"Sounds like a blast." Blaise chuckled.

I chuckled. "I'd invite you, but Theo is probably the only one who wouldn't get eaten alive. And that's only after they finally realize that he's more of a Ravenclaw than a Slytherin."

"Yeah, no thanks." The dark haired boy said.

"Too much scarlet for your tastes?" I joked, then smirked. "But then again, if I recall, you _prefer_ red wine, don't you?"

"Wha - what's that got to do with anything?" he said, blushing.

"Whoa, what am I missing here?" Blaise said, smirking wickedly at his friend.

"That's a good question." Draco said, grinning devilishly.

I chuckled. "Inside joke, leave him alone."

They eyed the pair of us for a few more seconds, but eventually gave up. When we were all dismissed for dinner, I caught up to Sara.

"You coming to the Gryffindor party?" I asked, smiling.

She nodded, blushing a bit. "George invited me." she said, like it was no big deal.

I grinned. "I sense news, spill."

She shrugged. "He's not completely stupid all the time. He's actually pretty sweet, once you get him away from Fred."

I felt my jaw drop a bit. "You split up the wonder twins?"

She laughed. "Actually, he left Fred to come talk to me a few weeks ago, and we've been hanging out a bit since then. You'd know this if you'd been on the same planet."

I frowned. "I know. I've been a bad friend, and I don't really have an excuse. Sorry."

She shrugged. "No big deal. We're talkin now, aren't we?"

* * *

><p>I was sitting with Harry, Ron, and Hermione when Lee Jordan picked up the golden egg from where Harry had placed on the table.<p>

"Blimey, this is heavy." he said, weighing it in his hands. "Open it Harry, go on! Let's just see what's inside it!"

"He's supposed to work out the clue on his own," said Hermione instantly. "It's in the tournament rules..."

I leaned forwards. "He was supposed to figure a way past that Horntail on his own too." I muttered, giving her a sly smirk, making her grin rather guiltily.

"Yeah, go on, Harry, open it!" several people echoed. Lee passed my brother the egg, and Harry dug his fingernails into the groove that ran all the way around it and pried it open.

It was hollow and completely empty - but the moment Harry had opened it, the most horrible noise, a loud and screechy wailing, filled the room. I'd never heard the like of it, though it brought to mind images of banshees.

"Shut it!" Fred bellowed, covering his ears.

"What _was_ that?" said Seamus Finnigan, staring at the egg as Harry slammed it shut again. "Sounded like a banshee... Maybe you've got to get past one of those next, Harry!"

"It was someone being tortured!" said Neville, who had gone very white and spilled sausage rolls all over the floor. "You're going to have to fight the Cruciatus Curse!"

"Don't be a prat, Neville, that's illegal." said George from his lounging position beside Sara. I allowed myself a small smirk when I noticed the arm around the bouncy blonde. "They wouldn't use the Cruciatus Curse on the champions. I thought it sounded a bit like Percy singing... maybe you've got to attack him while he's in the shower, Harry." This made Sara snort with laughter, making George beam at her. "And here, I was told that you Ravenclaws had no sense of humor! Tart?" he said, offering her a jam tart off the plate balanced on his knee.

Sara looked doubtfully at the tart. "Considering that you and Fred are the school's pranksters, I'm obliged to ask what you've done to it."

George chuckled. "It's alright, I haven't done anything to it. It's the custard creams you've got to watch -"

Neville, who had just bitten into a custard cream, choked and spat it out. Fred laughed.

"He was only joking, Neville..."

Sara took the jam tart. Hermione frowned. "Did you get all this from the kitchens, Fred? George?"

"Yep," said Fred, grinning at her. He put on a high-pitched squeak and imitated a house elf. "'Anything we can get you sir, anything at all!' They're dead helpful... get me a roast ox if I said I was peckish."

"How do you get in there?" Hermione said in an innocently casual sort of voice.

"Easy," said Fred. "Concealed door behind a painting of a bowel of fruit. Just tickle the pear, and it giggles and -" he stopped and looked suspiciously at her. "Why?"

"Nothing." said Hermione quickly.

"Going to try and lead the house elves out on strike now, are you?" said George. "Going to give up all the leaflet stuff and stir them up into rebellion?"

Several people chortled. Hermione didn't answer.

"Don't you go upsetting them and telling them they've got to take cloths and salaries!" said Fred warningly. "You'll put them off their cooking!"

Just then, Neville caused a slight diversion by turning into a large canary.

"Oh - sorry, Neville!" George shouted over the laughter. "I forgot - it _was_ the custard creams we hexed -"

Within a minute however, Neville had molted, and once his feathers had fallen off, he reappeared looking entirely normal. He even joined in the laughter.

"Canary Creams!" Fred shouted to the excitable crowd. "George and I invented them - seven Sickles each, a bargain!"

It was nearly one in the morning when everyone went up to the dorms. Sara conjured up a blanket, and I morphed, settling myself into one of the overstuffed armchairs. Harry had given me his tiny moving model of the Hungarian Horntail. I put him beside the fireplace, where it yawned, curled up, and closed it's eyes.

_It's been a good day._ I thought sleepily.


	35. Yule Ball pt1: Dates

**Sorry it's a bit late! This ****_was_**** going to be one big chapter, but I ended up splitting it in half. So here we go! Yule Ball part 1!**

**Draco and Lyra have another fight. Not sure how I feel about the fight resolving in the same chapter it was started in, but it's needed.**

**I was having a bit of a dilemma on what to do with Theo and Hermione, and I would like to thank the people who helped me with it. Y'all are rockstars!**

* * *

><p>The start of December brought wind and sleet to Hogwarts. Draft though the castle always was during winter, I found myself gad of it's fires and thick walls every time my friends and I passed the Durmstrang ship on the lake, which was pitching and rolling in the high winds, it's black sails billowing against dark skies. The Beauxbatons caravan was likely to be pretty chilly too. Hagrid, I noticed, was keeping Madame Maxime's horses well provided with their preferred drink of single-malt whiskey; the fumes wafting from the trough in the corner of their paddock was enough to make the entire Care of Magical Creatures class light-headed. This was unhelpful, as we were still tending to the horrible skrewts and needed our wits about us.<p>

There were only ten skrewts left, thank Merlin. Apparently their desire to kill each other had not been exercised out of them. Each was now approaching six feet in length. Their thick grey armor, their powerful, scuttling legs, their fire-blasting ends, their stingers, and their suckers combined to make the skrewts the most repulsive things I'd ever seen.

There had been one day when Rita Skeeter had shown up, and I'd promptly ignored her presence, instead I morphed and sat myself beside Draco, who was perched on the back steps of Hagrid's cabin.

He chuckled. "You really cant stand that reporter, can you, Fuzzball?"

I morphed and gave him an indignant glare. "Excuse me, _what_ did you just call me?"

He chuckled again, shrugging. "You told me that your dad and all his friends had nicknames because they could all change into different animals. Figured I'd give you your own." Draco joked. "Besides, you call me Dragon."

I shoved him. "Don't be a prat. And I'm not one of the Marauders, I don't _need_ a nickname. As for me calling you Dragon, well, technically it's your name, just in English rather than Latin."

He rolled his eyes. "Alright. I was only teasing you anyway."

The next morning, I ate breakfast with my brother and his happy trio. I grinned when I noticed Sara sitting with George a little bit down the table.

"So, Hermione," I began, reaching for the milk. "Where were you yesterday? We missed you at dinner."

"Oh, right you don't know." Harry said, making me raise an eyebrow at him. "Hermione has been expanding the House-Elf Liberation Front. Dragged Ron and I down to the kitchens to visit the lot of them."

I tried to not roll my eyes. "How did that go?"

Ron snorted. "I was always a bit amazed at how much food my brothers were able to steal from the kitchens, but it's not exactly difficult. They practically fall over themselves trying to give it away."

"We saw Dobby there too." Harry said. "Apparently he started working here last week. Dumbledore's even paying him."

I smiled. "Good for him."

"He said that he's still working for the Malfoys though." Hermione said irritably.

I frowned, setting down my glass. "Hermione, I told you about that. Dobby likes Draco. He was nice to the elves, Mr. Malfoy was the only one who treated him like shit."

"It's still not right." she griped.

"O-kay." I said.

Apart from that, the rest of the week was rather boring. Nothing happened until Thursday. It was the end of double potions, and we were all just finishing writing down our homework when Snape cleared his throat, a sour look on his face.

"As your Head of House, I am obligated to inform you that the Yule Ball is approaching - a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and an opportunity for us to, _socialize_ with our foreign guests. Now, the ball will be open to fourth years and above - although you may invite a younger student if you wish -"

He was interrupted by Carly Dawson letting out a shrill giggle. Pansy nudged her hard in the ribs, her face contorting into a look she clearly though to be sultry, and throwing Draco a sly look over her shoulder.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." he muttered.

Snape cleared his throat, regaining the room's attention. His expression had soured further. "Dress robes will be worn," he continued. "and the ball will start at eight 'o clock on Christmas Day, finishing at midnight in the Great Hall. Now then -" He stared around the room coldly. "The Yule Ball is of course a chance for us all to relax and enjoy ourselves," he said in a disapproving voice.

Dawson giggled again, covering her mouth with her hand to stifle the sound. I could see what was funny this time: Professor Snape, with his harsh demeanor, and his irritable expression, looked as though he didn't know what those words even meant.

"But that does NOT mean," he went on. "that we will be relaxing the standards of behavior we expect from Hogwarts students. I can assure you that the Slytherin student foolish enough to embarrass this school in any way will find them selves in detention every afternoon for the remainder of the school year."

And he'd do it to.

The bell rang, and there was the usual scuffle of activity as everyone packed their bags and swung them up onto their shoulders.

I walked with Theo out of class. "This is it." I said in an excited voice.

"What?" he asked, bewildered.

I grinned at him. "This is your chance with Hermione! You should ask her!" I said quietly as we passed a gaggle of second years.

Theo could have passed as a tomato. "Are you bloody nuts?" he hissed. "There's no way she'd say yes to me! And Blaise and Draco would eat me alive!"

"I'll deal with them, but really Theo, you like her don't you?" I asked gently.

"Well yeah. She's an amazing person, not to mention the brightest witch I've ever met." His blush faded a bit, but his cheeks remained stubbornly pink. "But there's no way she'd go with me. I'm a Slytherin, remember? Besides that, I'm pretty sure she likes someone else."

I frowned. "What makes you say that?"

He shrugged. "She's said things in our letters. About how she's really into this one bloke. Says that he really gets her, and that he's nicer to her than anyone's ever been." he tried to sound like he didn't care, but the dejection in his voice betrayed him.

I frowned. "You'll never know if you don't try Theo. You could start by telling her that you were the one she's been writing to."

He hung his head as we entered the common room. "Maybe." he mumbled, walking off to put his things away.

* * *

><p>"So," I said as Theodore, Draco, and I sat in our dorm after dinner. They both looked up, but Draco was the one I was looking at. "Are you going to ask her?"<p>

The blond frowned in confusion. "Ask who what?"

Theo rolled his eyes. "Idiot." he muttered

I couldn't have agreed more. "Are you going to ask Lyra to the Yule Ball?" Draco paled. "Did I stutter?" I asked blandly.

Draco looked at the window. "I don't know what you're talking about Blaise. I don't like her, because Lyra and I are just friends."

Theo snorted. "Blaise never _said_ you liked her. Just if you were going to ask her to the ball. Nitwit."

"Well - I - no. I'm not." He stammered.

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? So you wouldn't mind if I asked her then?"

"Don't even think about it." Draco snarled before remembering himself. "I - I mean - shut up Blaise."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh come off it. You like her, as much as you may protest it. You're completely soft on her, not to mention that the pair of you can't have a conversation without you staring at her, or flirting with her. And then of course there's the fact that you haven't taken that dragon claw amulet off since she gave it to you almost a full year ago."

"That's completely off the point." he said weakly, his hand reaching up to grab said object.

"No, it's not." Theo snapped. "You like her, she likes you, what's the problem?"

"Well I -" Draco paused, then looked directly at Theo. "She likes me?"

"Bloody hell, are you blind mate?" I asked, exasperated. "Yes, she likes you. Merlin only knows why, as much of a prat as you are. Have you not _seen_ the way she looks at you?"

"More to the point," Theo interrupted. "Did you see the look she gave Pansy today in class? When she shot Draco that 'seductive' look? Merlin, I thought that the girl's head would fly off." I couldn't help but laugh at this, I _had_ seen the witch's face. She looked ready to kill Parkinson. Theo looked back at our blond roommate. "You had to have noticed it, you were sitting right next to her."

Draco frowned, "I was too busy trying not to vomit into my cauldron."

I laughed again. "Either way mate, at this point, there's no denying that you've got it bad for one another." I smirked. "So, back to my question, are you going to ask her to the ball?"

He hesitated. "I don't know."

I groaned in defeat. "You're pathetic."

Theo nodded gravely. "Seriously, a Huffelpuff has more stones."

"Oy!"

* * *

><p>It was amazing how many girls Hogwarts suddenly seemed to hold; I had never quite noticed it before, even though I was a girl myself. Girls giggling and whispering in the corridors, girls shrieking with laughter as boys passed them, girls excitedly comparing notes on what they were going to wear on Christmas night...<p>

I also noticed the increasing abundance of girls wearing makeup. The girls who hadn't worn it before could be seen looking a little prettier than usual, the girls who had only worn a little before, now looked almost too primped up for a simple school day, and the ones who were already wearing too much changed their styles.

Of course there were exceptions, like Sara, Hermione, and myself of course. But we were a minority. Sara always wore makeup, but it was only ever light cream eyeshadow that you could only seriously notice if you were really looking. And that didn't change. Hermione and I still didn't bother to wear any.

Sara actually didn't even mention the ball until she bombarded me one Saturday.

"He asked me to be his date!" she squealed, sitting down across from me in the library. Madam Pince shot her a stern look, which went unnoticed.

I blinked, startled by her sudden appearance. "What?" I asked rather inarticulately.

"George, he asked me to go to the ball with him." she said, looking like she might explode.

I grinned instantly. "And you were the one who complained when you found out that I was going to try and set you up with him. More to the point, you didn't even give me a chance to meddle." I teased her.

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay. You were right, and I was wrong. He's a charming and funny young wizard. Happy?"

"Ecstatic." I said, looking back down at my homework.

Sara huffed. "Fine, don't even ask me about my dress."

I looked up raising an eyebrow at her. "You are aware that you sound completely vapid right now?" she glared at me, and I relented. "Fine, what's your dress look like?" I asked, shutting the book and pushing my paper aside.

"It's a strapless, knee length, powder blue dress with silver accents." she said. "And I'm wearing the jewelry I wore to my dad's promotion party this summer."

"The diamond set?" I asked, vaguely recalling the event. It'd been pretty boring.

"The same one." she confirmed. I hummed and reopened the book, reaching for my quill. Sara made an insulted sort of sound. "And you're not even going to tell me about yours?"

I looked up with slight exasperation. "Sara, I'm not even _going_." I informed her.

Her face sobered a bit. "Why?" I shrugged, writing down a few things from the book. Sara pulled the book away from me, causing me to look up and glare at her. "Why?" she asked more demandingly. "You could wear that dress your foster mom gave you. The purple one with the beads."

I frowned and stared at a knot in the table. To be honest, that was the only set of dress robes I owned, so of course I'd have to wear it. "I just don't really want to, I mean, I won't have a date, I'll feel awkward -"

"You'll get to dance." she said gently, clearly sensing that she'd hit something.

I shook my head. "I won't have a dance _partner_, Sara. The only person I'd even want to go with, won't ask me. I don't even think he's completely aware that I'm of the opposite sex."

She glared at me. "Draco Malfoy is an idiot if he hasn't noticed that yet, and believe me, I think he very much has."

I blushed. "I never said a word about Draco."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh please. You get all starry eyed every time he's even in the same room with you."

"No I don't" I said.

"Ok, well maybe that is exaggerating a bit, but it's written all over your face, Lyra. And don't even try to say that he doesn't like you. I saw him holding your hand before the first task, or did you conveniently forget about that?" she said smartly.

I looked back at the knot in the table. "He was just being a good friend, supportive." I mumbled.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me." she sighed. "Lyra, the boy is infatuated with you. You two just need to accept the mutual attraction, and get a move on."

I gathered my things and stood up, putting them in my bag. "It's not going to happen, Sara. As good a friend as he might be, Draco Malfoy is out of my league. Theo and Ron are more my speed, and I don't like either of them, and they both like Hermione."

"So you admit you like Draco then!" she said triumphantly.

I shook my head. "Never did I say that." and then I walked out of the library.

* * *

><p>The next day I was walking with Harry when a curly-haired third-year Huffelpuff girl who barely looked thirteen, asked him to go to the ball with her. Harry was so taken aback that he said no in reflex. The girl had walked off looking rather hurt, and I'd smacked him on the back of the head before chasing after her.<p>

"Hey!" I said, getting her attention. I smiled gently. "Forget my brother, okay? He's an idiot sometimes, and you really surprised him there."

"Do you think if I asked again?" she said, perking up.

I shook my head, knowing full well that he intended on asking out Cho Chang. "No, he likes this girl, and he's going to ask her to go with him." the girl looked even more downcast. I sighed. "Look, Harry's just one guy. There's a whole school of them here. Ask another guy. You're pretty, I'm sure any number of boys would gladly go with a gem like you."

She smiled, uplifted, and I walked back to my brother. "Idiot." I snapped. "Do _try_ and be more of a gentleman next time."

"I didn't even stop and think about it, she caught me off guard! How is that my fault?" He said defensively.

I rolled my eyes. "It's your fault because you wouldn't know tact if it bit you in the arse." I continued walking towards History of Magic. "Changing the subject, do you even _know_ how to dance?"

Harry flushed a scarlet that could match Ron's hair. "Well - I - _no_. When exactly have I had the time or opportunity to learn how to do any sort of dancing?"

I sighed. "You're almost pathetic."

"You're going to force me into learning, aren't you?" he said apathetically.

"Nope, I'll let you drown this time."

"Do you hate me?"

"Nah, I'm just a pain in the neck." I chuckled as we stepped into Professor Binns's class.

* * *

><p>The last week before term ended became increasingly boisterous as it progressed. Rumors about the Yule Ball were flying everywhere, though I didn't believe half of them - for instance, that Dumbledore had bought eight hundred barrels of mulled mead from Madam Rosmerta. It seemed to be fact however, that he had booked the Weird Sisters. I was a little interested by this, but as their popularity was mostly contained to Europe, I couldn't be very much bothered by it. However, for those who had grown up listening to the Europe WWN (Wizarding Wireless Network) it was like Christmas came early.<p>

Some of the teachers, like little Professor Flitwick, gave up trying to teach us much when everyone's minds were clearly elsewhere; he allowed us to play games like exploding snap and wizard's chess (I beat Theo twice, and Blaise wouldn't even try) during his lesson on Wednesday, and apparently spent most of it talking to Harry about the oh-so-perfect Summoning Charm he'd used during the first task of the Triwizard Tournament. Other teachers were not so generous. Nothing would ever deflect Professor Binns, for example, from plowing on through his notes on goblin rebellions - as Binns's own death hadn't stood in the way of continuing to teach, we supposed a small thing like Christmas wasn't going to put him off. It was amazing how he could make even bloody and vicious goblin riots sound as boring as Percy's cauldron-bottom report. Professors McGonagall and Moody kept us working until the very last second of our classes too, and Snape, of course, would no sooner let us play games in class than adopt Harry. Staring nastily around at us all, he informed us that he would be testing us on poison antidotes during the last lesson of term.

"Evil, he is." Theo said bitterly that night in the Slytherin common room. "Springing a test on us on the last _hour_. Ruining the last bit of term with a whole lot of studying."

"Mmm... you're not exactly straining yourself, though are you?" I said, looking at him in amusement.

"Tch, look who's talking." Blaise said. "You're the one reading some muggle picture book."

I rolled my eyes. "It's a comic book thank you very much. And it's Sara's, not mine."

"Whatever it is, it doesn't change the fact that it's got an unmoving picture of a guy dressed in a bat suit on the front." he griped.

I chuckled and went back to reading, but then I paused and looked up when Draco came and sat down with us. He gave me an odd look. "What are you reading?" he asked, frowning.

I groaned. "Does everyone have an issue with comic books?"

"Yes."

I glared at the three of them before pointedly going back to reading. They chuckled and the trio settled into relatively boring conversation. I couldn't focus on ignoring them however, owing to the pestering thought that had popped up when Draco had arrived. I blamed Sara really, it had been a problem ever since the conversation I'd had with her a few days ago. I hadn't been able to hold a normal conversation with the boy since.

"Lyra, are you alright?" I looked up to see the three of them looking at me.

"What, why?" I asked, not sure what had drawn their attention.

"You were tapping your foot." Blaise explained.

I shook my head. "I'm fine." No I wasn't. The three of them went back to their conversation now that I'd stopped tapping. I found myself staring at Draco, the thought still swirling in my head. It wasn't unusual for the girl to ask, right? Hell, a third-year had guts to ask out my brother, so why couldn't I have that courage? Was Sara right? Did he like me? If he did, why hadn't he asked me? Would it be worth it, putting myself out there, only to have him reject me? Thinking these things made me feel a bit conceited, like Pansy. I shook my head, no, I wasn't that big of an idiot.

Draco, noticing my scrutiny, frowned. "Why are you staring at me?" he asked warily.

"Are you going to ask me to the ball?" I blurted. Ok, so maybe I was that big of an idiot.

Draco went pink, and Blaise and Theo both froze. Oh well, no taking it back now. I gazed steadily at Draco, despite the heat rising in my cheeks. "W-what?" Draco stuttered.

"Are you going to ask me to the dance?" I repeated.

Draco was about to answer when a voice behind me cackled. "Are you stupid?" The four of us turned to see Pansy looking at me in cruel amusement. "As if Drakie would ever consider _you,_ Potter. He's my date, obviously. His father would never allow Drakie to sully himself with a mere half-blood like yourself, with your mudblood mother."

I would have snapped back at her, had 'Drakie' not beaten me to it. "Damn it Parkinson, I said _no. _Go away."

"But _Drakie -_"

The blond stood up, glaring. "For the last time, I don't like you. _Leave me alone_." The girl burst into tears before hurrying off to where her little hyena pack sat. Draco sat back down with an impatient huff. "Merlin, she's annoying."

"Um, Draco?" He looked to Blaise in question. "Are you going to answer Lyra or not?" I felt myself blush. I'd hoped that Pansy's interruption had covered my lapse in judgment.

Draco looked at me, then sighed, running a hand over his face. "It wouldn't be a good idea."

I felt something cold curl up in my chest. I looked away, blushing, and made to get up. "I'm sorry, it was a stupid question I-"

"No." I paused to look back at him. He shook his head. "That's not what I meant. It's," He looked at the floor, suddenly seeming angry. "It's just that the school governors are going to be there, including my father. It just wouldn't be a good idea, going with you. He wouldn't like it."

I felt the shame in my heart turn to fury. "Oh." I said shortly. "Of course. I should have realized." I stood up.

"Lyra-" I glared at him, and he looked incredibly uncomfortable. "it's not," he paused again, sighing. "I would have asked you, but - it's just - you don't know what he's like."

I sneered. "That's where you're wrong. I know that he's a bigot, and as much as it _abhors_ me to admit it, Pansy was right, your father would never approve of you having a _half-blood_ on your arm. So I apologize for forgetting that you can't seem to think for yourself where he's concerned. Perish the thought." and with that I stalked away from him, feeling more than a little hurt, and definitely betrayed. I disappeared into the girls' dormitory before he could say anything else.

* * *

><p>As Draco stared after her helplessly, I couldn't help but agree with Lyra. She did have the right to be angry. I looked at Draco.<p>

"Idiot." I deadpanned.

"Shut up."

"Why didn't you tell us that your father would be there?" Blaise asked.

Draco shook his head. "It didn't seem important."

Blaise's face contorted into a sneer, which was a shock, as the laid-back Italian was usually calm in the face of adversity. "Clearly is it for Lyra." he snapped. "You really embarrassed her."

"I didn't think she'd-"

"No, you didn't _think_, is what happened. You still refuse to tell her about your father, yet you expect her to understand when you decide that avoiding his anger is more important than she is? Theo and I have been telling you for weeks now that she likes you, and the second that she puts herself out there, you completely shoot her down." He snapped. "Theo's wrong. You're not an idiot, you're just self-centered."

And with that, the dark skinned boy stood, and marched off towards our dorm. Draco looked at me for support, but I glared back. "He's right you know. This is your mess, _you_ can fix it. We're not helping you this time." I said, getting up to follow Blaise.

* * *

><p>My friends were mad at me, I'd hurt Lyra again, and Pansy was still on my case about going with her to the ball. Could things even get worse?<p>

By the time I managed to drag myself to the fourth year boys' dorm, Theo, Blaise, as well as Crabbe and Goyle, were all asleep.

I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep, but I lay down anyway. Thinking about it, there'd never been a confrontation between the onyx haired witch and I where Blaise or Theo _hadn't_ talked her down at any point. I sighed. This would either end well or I'd lose a friend. That much I was aware of.

I had been considering asking her to the ball, but my mother had sent me a letter informing me that she and Father would be attending, along with the eleven other school governors. I hadn't gone out of my way during the summer to keep Lyra out of his range, only to shove her in his face now. Father would pick her apart. He'd be furious at me owing to her blood status, as well as the fact that she was a Potter. There were so many reasons that he'd never accept her it could almost make my head spin.

And then of course there was the incident at the World Cup. I shuddered when I remembered it. For the first time in thirteen years, he'd put on his mask. A mask that in recent years, I'd hoped I'd never have to see. And of course it had to stand for everything Lyra was not. Lyra and her brother were as far from one of the Dark Lord's followers as anyone could get.

Briefly, I thought back to the first time I'd met Harry Potter. I'd attempted to befriend him, back then I'd have thought that father would have finally been proud of me, getting close to such a famous wizard. And then there'd been the first time I'd met Lyra. I'd thought she was amazing. Pretty, pureblooded, foreign, intelligent. Well, I'd gotten three out of four correct.

What amazed me the most was that I realized that _I_ didn't care about her blood status anymore. I wasn't even sure when that'd changed.

But now there was this. I liked her, I could admit that, to myself if to no one else. And I somehow had a knack for offending or hurting her. Now I'd done both. Replaying the scene from before, I could clearly pinpoint the moment when her shame had turned into rage. All because I'd opened my mouth.

She'd said that I was wrong when I said that she didn't know what Lucius Malfoy was like. But she was wrong. He was more of a bastard than she realized. I didn't want to put her in the crossfire of a family issue. But then, eventually she would anyway. I thought back to what Blaise had said before the World Cup.

_"if you keep letting her in the way you have been, she will figure it out. Maybe not figure it out exactly, but she'll guess. Lyra's not an idiot you know."_

I sighed. He was right, of course. But I didn't want to tell her. That was what it all came back to. Besides, how did a person even _approach_ a conversation like that? _"Lyra, my father beats my mother and I. Just thought I'd let you know."_ I'd never had to tell Blaise or Theo. They'd known me for years. They'd recognized what was going on over the years.

And then there was the fact that it was one of those things that we never talked about. Sure, we alluded to it, like when Blaise was telling me to let Lyra in on it, or when he'd given me the bruise healing paste, but apart from that, we tiptoed around the subject. We just _didn't_ talk about it.

I didn't like the word abuse. That was what it was, but it made me feel like some sob story. I couldn't even say it aloud. How could I tell Lyra something like that?

And then there was the other side of it. If I let Lyra in, what would happen? Ignoring my father for a moment, what would happen if I asked out Lyra Potter?

I knew that if I did, it wouldn't just be as my date to some ball. I'd want to keep her. If I could forget what there was to lose, I could clearly see what was to gain.

Lyra was short tempered, irritable, emotional, critical, insecure, bossy, practical, but she was also intelligent. She had green eyes that sparkled when she laughed. She had a habit of cocking her head to the side when she was deep in thought. She rubbed her scar when she was nervous. She rubbed her eye when she was lying. She could hold a conversation with a person for hours, even if she didn't actually care about the topic. She had a warm nature, and a gentle heart, once you got past the defenses. She was loyal to her friends. She preferred pumpernickel toast.

She was perfectly flawed.

What all of it boiled down to, was that I had to choose between fewer of my father's fits of rage, and Lyra.

The question was: Was Lyra's heart worth my father's anger?

My eyes snapped open in shock. The question was so simple. And the answer was so obvious.

* * *

><p>Lyra spent the next several days avoiding Draco. I honestly didn't blame her. She was avoiding us too, but I suspected that was more because we had been witness to her humiliation.<p>

Neither Theodore, nor myself were speaking to him until he resolved things with the Green-eyed witch. But he hadn't seemed to notice as he was too busy trying to catch up with the girl in question. More than once I'd seen her double back through a hallway to avoid him, and seen him chase after her, only to come up short. It took me several days before I realized that she was only coming and going from the common room at absurd hours when everyone was meant to be asleep. How she was doing this without being caught by Snape or someone else, was beyond me. I chalked it up to her animagus form, and that cloak her brother had.

About five days before Christmas day, when the ball was to take place, her luck ran out.

Theo and I were in the library when we spotted Sara, Lyra, and another blond Ravenclaw walking in together. Theo was the one who pointed them out.

"Think we should invite them over?" He muttered to me across the table. "Or should we just leave her be?"

I looked at the dark haired witch as she pulled a book down from the section on astronomy. I sighed. "We can try." I said a bit helplessly.

Theo nodded, and was about to get up to go talk to her when a voice rang from the library entrance, earning a stern but ignored look from Madam Pince. "Lyra!"

"Oh no." I muttered. Draco was striding towards the girl, looking determined. Lyra herself, looked less than pleased, and partially hid behind the bookshelf. Sara stood between the two, looking furious. The other blond looked... disappointed. I nodded to Theo. "We should get over there." I said, standing up.

As the pair of us neared the four of them, I caught the end of whatever Sara was saying to him. "- doesn't want to talk to you."

Draco had on what one could only describe as a war face. Total determination. "Just let me say one thing to her, and I swear, if she wants, I'll never so much as look at her again."

Sara glared at her for a moment, but eventually rolled her eyes, "Fine, say it then."

Lyra was looking around Sara from her station half behind the corner of the bookshelf. Draco frowned at the pair of them. "Could you move, Sara?"

The honey blond scoffed. "You can say it from there just fine. Who cares if I'm in the way?"

"I do, Just move." he growled.

"Sara it's fine." said a tart voice. Lyra stepped out of hiding and leaned against the side of the bookshelf, her friend backed down, Moving out of the way. Lyra didn't look at Draco, instead looking at the table behind him. "What is it you want, Malfoy?" she asked.

"Just this." he said, stepping forward.

It took me a few seconds to process that Draco was kissing Lyra. And when I did, I found myself grinning rather wolfishly. _It's about damn time._

When Draco pulled back from the stunned girl, he didn't smirk like I thought he would, instead, his face held the same resolve as before. "Go to the ball with me." he said plainly.

Lyra, who's eyes were now as round as dinner plates, stared at him in shock. She was silent for a full minute before she managed to stutter out a response. "O-okay..."

And with that Draco nodded, and walked away.

Sara punched the air. "Yes!" she said, startling Theo and I with her sudden change in mood.

"Are you bipolar?" He asked warily, earning a punch in the arm. "Ow!"

"What just happened?" Lyra asked, drawing our attentions again. She was still starring at where Draco had vanished from the library.

I grinned at her. "I do believe that you've just been asked out."

"And if that kiss was anything to go by, you also received one hell of an apology." Theo quipped. Sara smacked him on the back of the head. "Ow! Bloody hell woman!"

"That was no apology, it was a start."

"No." Lyra said, finally seeming to have returned to normal. She was smiling at the floor, if that was any indicator. "No, for Draco that was an apology. The boy can barely formulate the word 'sorry', much less put it into a sentence." she paused, and then looked up, annoyance filling her eyes. "And stop abusing poor Theodore!" she demanded.

This made us all start laughing.

"So are you going to be okay then, Lyra?" asked the wispy blond girl who's name I didn't know.

Lyra chuckled. "Yeah, Luna, thank's for asking."

"So does this mean you're going to be getting ready with us on Friday?" Sara asked with excitement.

Lyra blushed. "I suppose so."

I frowned. "Do you even have dress robes though, Lyra? It's awful late to be ordering anything."

She shrugged. "The school list said dress robes were required, I brought the only dress I own."

"Will it be enough for a ball?" Theo asked. "I mean, for blokes, everything's pretty much the same, but for you girls -"

"Trust me, you two, it'll do just fine." Sara interrupted. "I've seen it. You two just trey to keep Draco from passing out when he sees her." And with that, she steered a bemused Lyra away from us.

"Well," Theo said. "That as enlightening." smack "OW! Would you people stop hitting me?!"

"No."


	36. Yule Ball pt2: Dinner and Dancing

Despite the very heavy load of homework that the fourth years had been given for the holidays, I was in no mood to work after the incident in the library, and spent the days leading up to Christmas enjoying myself as fully as possible along with everyone else.

Sara and I took to hanging out in the Gryffindor Tower with Harry and co. The tower was hardly less crowded now than during term-time; it seemed to have shrunk slightly too, as it's inhabitants were being much rowdier than usual. Fred and George had had great success with their Canary Creams, and for the first several days of the holidays, people kept bursting into feathers all over the place. Before long, however, al the Gryffindors had learned to treat food anybody else offered them with extreme caution, in case it had a Canary Cream concealed in the center. George had confided in Sara, Harry, and I that he and Fred were now working on something else, and I made a mental note not to accept so much as a crisp from Fred or George in the future. Sara on the other had, was quite intrigued, and offered to help them if they would allow it. I noticed that while Fred instantly seemed skeptical, George beamed at her, accepting whole-heartedly.

Snow was falling thickly on the castle and it's grounds now. The pale blue Beauxbatons carriage looked like a large, chilly, frosted pumpkin next to the iced gingerbread house that was Hagrid's cabin, while the Durmstrang ship's portholes were glazed over with ice, the rigging white with frost. The house elves down in the kitchens were out doing themselves with a series of rich, warming stews and savory puddings, and only Fleur Delacour seemed to be able to find anything to complain about.

"It is to 'eavy, all zis 'Ogwarts food," I heard her saying grumpily as we left the Great Hall behind her one evening. "I will not be able to fit into my dress robes!"

"Oooh, there's a tragedy," I said to Sara and Luna, making them chuckle as we kept walking. "She really thinks a lot of herself, doesn't she?"

I awoke very suddenly on Christmas Day. Freezing cold, and rubbing my eyes, I found Pansy holding my blankets, glaring nastily. She'd been on my case ever since she'd heard about Draco and his method for asking me out. "Morning." she said irritably.

I yawned. "Can we not do this today, Parkinson? It's Christmas."

"Listen you little tramp," she spat, ignoring my plea. "_I_ am the one who's going to be dancing with Drakie tonight. _Not_ you. So don't even think of showing your face." And with that she threw the blankets at me, and stalked away, having already opened her presents apparently.

I yawned again, rolling my eyes. Getting up, I looked at the clock, deciding that the boys would indeed be up by now, I wrapped my crochet blanket around me sleepily before picking up my wand and flicking it at my presents, muttering a spell to make them follow me as I walked out into the common room. Sure enough, I found them unwrapping my gifts to them by the couch and coffee table that we had unofficially claimed as 'ours'.

Theo was the first to notice me, laughing when he did. "Well, that's certainly a fashion statement, Lyra, but I gotta tell you, you're pulling it off superbly."

I yawned again. "Bite me."

The three of them laughed as I sat down next to Draco, half curling against his side. My presents settled themselves on the floor beside me. Draco chuckled. "Are you going to open your presents or what?"

I groaned, shutting my eyes. "Sleep now, Christmas later." They burst into laughter again, and Blaise and Theo yanked the blanket away from me. "Hey!"

"Come on Lyra. If you wanted to sleep, you should have stayed in bed." Blaise said.

I glared and sat up. "Fine, but give me the blanket back." He chuckled, tossing the green and blue cloth at me. "Thank you." I said primly, covering myself again before proceeding to demolish quantities of wrapping paper like the rest of them.

Hermione had given me a book on astrology. From Theo, a book on healing spells; Ron, a sketch pad (though I suspected the idea had been Hermione's since I know I'd never told him I like to draw); from Harry, a set of silver celtic earrings; Sirius, a new stationary set; Blaise, a bottle of daydream potion; Hagrid, a vast box of sweets (Bertie Bott's Every Flavor beans, Chocolate Frogs, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, and Fizzing Whizbees); and Draco's mother Narcissa, had gifted me with a beautiful silver bracelet in the shape of a snake, which was charmed to slither around my wrist depending on my mood (I made a note to thank her at the ball tonight). And of course there was Mrs. Weasley's package, which included a new sweater (Brown, with a fox on it), and a large quantity of homemade mince pies, which I shared with the boys.

"Weasley's mum sure can cook." Blaise said, now on his fourth pie.

I chuckled. "She's had seven children to practice on, so I would hope so." I remarked, picking up the last gift, Draco's. I looked over to him, noticing that he hadn't so much as touched the pies. I frowned. "Go on, Dragon, it's not as if they're poisoned."

He rolled his grey eyes. "I'd prefer not to touch them, thanks."

I glared and set his gift on the table. "I'm not opening you present until you eat one." I said stubbornly. "I know you don't like the Weasleys, but you will not deny that Mrs. Weasley is an excellent chef."

He glared at me before rolling his eyes and taking a bite from one of the smaller ones. He looked slightly surprised as he swallowed. "Hey, they are good."

"Told you, see that wasn't so hard, was it?" I said. He didn't respond, but did continue eating.

Chuckling at his behavior, I picked the small box back up, undoing the silver ribbon before tearing the paper. It was a long jewelry box, inside of which was a beautiful silver charm bracelet. Woven between the chain links was a green ribbon. There were only a few charms, but each was beautiful. A fox, a harp, a dragon, a cauldron, and a lightning bolt.

I smiled at him. "It's beautiful. Thank you."

He grinned back. "I thought you might like it. I picked the charms out myself."

I was about to say something else, when someone interrupted. "Kissy, kissy! I think someone's in _looove_!" This earned Blaise a ball of wrapping paper in his face.

We went up to breakfast a bit after that. We spent most of the morning in the Slytherin common room, where everyone was enjoying their presents, then returned to the Great Hall for a magnificent lunch, which included at least a hundred turkeys and Christmas puddings, and large piles of Cribbage's Wizarding Crackers.

After that, I left my boys, instead going out to the grounds with Harry, Sara, Hermione, and the Weasleys; the snow was untouched except for the deep channels made by the Durmstrangs and Beauxbatons students on their way up to the castle. Hermione chose to watch the snowball which ensued rather than join in, and at five o' clock, said she was going back upstairs to get ready for the ball.

"What, you need three hours to get ready?" said Ron, looking at her incredulously and paying for his lapse in concentration when a large snowball, thrown by George, hit him hard on the side of the head. "Who're you going with?" he yelled after Hermione, but she just waved and disappeared up the stone steps and into the castle.

I felt myself sadden. It had been Theo who informed me that Hermione would be attending the ball with Krum. Apparently he had been on his way to finally ask her himself, when he'd overheard the pair of them. He'd hidden from her for days after that.

I sighed, then called to my friend. "Sara!" I shouted, dodging a snowball.

"Yeah?" she asked, in the midst of an all out war with her not-boyfriend. (I didn't even get it anymore, were they an actual thing, or just dates to the ball?)

"We should probably head in too," I shouted, throwing a snowball at Harry. "We need to get ready as well."

"Ugh fine," she said, lobbing one final projectile at George, which hit him smack in the face, covering him with white snow. "Yes!" she shouted. "I win!"

"Wanna bet?" he growled at her, before tackling her into a snowdrift.

Rolling my eyes, I jogged over, only to find the two laughing heartily. George was on top of her, and had her pinned. I cleared my throat. "If you two are _quite_ finished? Sara?"

The blond rolled her eyes. "Fine." George stood, helping her up. "See you tonight, George." she said, reaching up to peck him on the nose before dragging me off.

"I don't get it." I admitted as we walked up the stone steps. "Are you or are you not, actually dating George Weasley?"

She looked at me in surprise. "Oh, yeah, we are. Didn't I tell you that?"

I rolled my eyes. "No."

"Oh, well, meet you at the portrait with Luna!" she said as we went separate ways.

"Hey Lyra." The boys greeted me as I walked back into the Slytherin dungeon.

"Hey guys." I said.

"You have snow in your hair." Theo pointed out.

I stopped walking to stare at him in awe. "No? Really?" I asked sarcastically. "I was in a snowball fight. But the girls and I need to get ready for the ball."

"You need three hours for that?" Blaise asked in confusion.

I looked at him blandly. "Have you not seen Hermione's hair?" I noted that Draco covered his smile with his hand as his body shook with silent laughter. Well at least he was polite enough to not to laugh aloud.

Rolling my eyes, I walked into my dorm, pulling all my things that I would need from my trunk, and grabbing Mrs. Malfoy's bracelet as an afterthought. It would go with my dress well. When I walked back out, with everything stuffed into a drawstring tote bag. When I walked back out I waved to my friends.

"See you boys tonight, Draco I'll meet you in the Entrance Hall, okay?"

"Wait, wait, wait," Blaise said, making me pause, he was eyeing my bag wolfishly. "What's in the bag princess?"

I chuckled. "Oh no you don't. My dress is a surprise, idiot."

"Well you're no fun." he pouted.

I rolled my eyes. "I'll see you later." I met Sara and Luna on their way up to the portrait. I was actually a bit surprised, since the Ravenclaw's common room was closer to Gryffindor's than mine was.

"We got stalled because Luna couldn't find her shoes." Sara said. "Someone hid them again."

I frowned. "Are you alright, Lulu?" I asked, calling her by her nickname.

She smiled dreamily at me. "I'll be fine. I'm used to it."

Sara scowled. "You shouldn't have to be." she griped.

"Fairy Lights." I said to the Fat Lady, "And have a happy Christmas, dear Lady."

She smiled at me. "And you, dear. Always nice to see you." she said as she swung open.

Ginny was waiting for us in the common room. "The other third years went home for the holiday, so we have my dorm to ourselves." she informed us.

I frowned. "What about Hermione?"

Ginny shrugged. "Said she wanted to get ready alone."

While the girls all got settled in Ginny's room, I put my stuff down and slipped out, only to go up to Hermione's own dorm. "Hey." I said, stepping inside. I was surprised to find that Lavender and the other three girls Hermione shared her dorm with were absent. "Where is everyone?"

She glanced at me as she tried to apply her eyeliner. "They've taken over the bathroom."

I sighed and walked over. "Give me that." I said, meaning the eyeliner. She frowned and gave it to me. "You should really get into your dress first, _then_ do makeup, else you run the risk of smudging it."

She frowned at the floor. "I'm not used to this sort of thing. I don't really know how to do it."

I chuckled. "Well, do you know what you're going to do with your hair?"

Hermione nodded. "I took a few potions, it should calm down in a bit."

I chuckled. "Then get into your dress and do your hair, I'll send Sara up later to do your makeup. Unless..." I smiled. "unless you want to join us?"

Hermione shook her head. "I want to surprise everyone."

I chuckled and placed the eyeliner on the bedside table. "Well, you can surprise everyone but Sara. I'll see you at the dance, ok?"

"See you." she said.

Just as I was about to leave, I turned in the doorway and gave her a sad smile. "Hermione?" she looked up. "Don't tell him I asked you to, but save a dance for Theo, alright?"

She gave me a shocked look. "Why?"

I sighed. "It's just, it'd mean a lot to me if you did." and with that I shut the door and went back down to the girls.

"There you are!" Sara exclaimed when I walked in.

"What?"

"Where did you go?" Ginny asked.

I shrugged. "I just had to ask Hermione something."

"Oh, well, are you going to show them your dress, or what?" Sara asked, bouncing on her heels, making her Shirley Temple curls bounce with her.

"Alright, alright!" I laughed, opening my drawstring bag and gently pulling out the wrinkle-proofed cloth. When I held it up, Ginny gasped, and Luna's eyes got wide.

"Sweet Merlin." Ginny said.

Sara giggled. "I know, right?"

I rolled my eyes. "How about we _all_ get ready?"

Since the ball included a banquet before hand, we didn't bother with being hungry as we all got dressed, and at quarter till eight, we all headed down to the common room. By which time, we all looked amazing. Sara's dress was a pretty powder blue strapless number with white sequins decorating the sweetheart neckline. Ginny's was a mint green and cream color chosen so that it wouldn't clash with her hair. Luna's was, as always, different. It was a, well, it looked like it was a peacock which had been transfigured into a dress. It was very pretty, of course, but it was... interesting.

When we entered the common room, we found George waiting at the foot of the stairs. He beamed when he saw Sara, Fred rolled his eyes. "Sara you look enchanting." George said honestly.

Sara blushed, smiling at him. "Thank you.

"Oh, you look nice too, Ginny." he said to his sister. "Neville's over by the fireplace." A few minutes later, my friends and I all went downstairs together.

* * *

><p>"Sara!" I called walking over.<p>

The blond witch turned away from the Weasley twin she was talking to. "Hey guys." she said brightly.

I smiled at her. "You look great." I complimented.

"You're not half bad yourself." she allowed. "I'm guessing that you're looking for Lyra?" I grinned sheepishly. The blond shook her head, making her blond ringlets bounce happily, and motioned to the entrance to the Great Hall. "She's over there, burgundy-purple dress, the one that's turned her into walking sex."

I nearly choked when she said the last bit. "Wh-what?"

She smirked. "Go find her, you'll see what I mean. Though you might have to beat people away from her with a stick."

The Weasley laughed. "She's probably done that herself by now."

Sara shrugged and motioned for me to go. Feeling a bit uncertain, I walked in the direction she'd indicated. Now that I knew the color of her dress, it was easier to find her. I stopped dead when I saw her though. Sara hadn't quite been exaggerating.

She had her back to me, and there was so much skin. Bare, flawless skin. From her lightly freckled shoulders down to the base of her spine, smooth, toned back was revealed. From there till just above the floor was a sheath of raw silk, hugging the curve of her butt, and sparsely adorned with little crystals. Strings decorated with the same crystals dangled along the line of her spine from where they tied around her neck. Her hair was in a loose but secure bun, a few of her onyx curls had been allowed to hang freely. The shade of dark, reddish purple looked amazing against her skin.

I felt my mouth dry up. She must have felt me staring, because she turned and found me instantly.

The back of her dress had been incredible for the revealed skin, but the front was incredible due to pure elegance. It was a scoop neck, and would have been all together simple, but for the crystals. The little clear-white beads were in no particular pattern, but they had a cascading waterfall effect that made it beautiful.

I found myself walking towards her, and when I finally looked at her face, I was thrown for a loop once more. She never wore makeup. Not even consealer. Not in the entire time I'd known her. But her lips were glossed, and her eyelids were dusted with a smokey grey that set her eyes on fire. In her ears, she wore little diamond studs, and around her one of her wrists she wore thin silver bangles, and around the other was the bracelet my mother had given her.

"Draco?" she asked in a quiet voice.

Snapping out of it, I gave her an awed look. "Lyra... you look beautiful."

She blushed. "Thank you." she said, looking at the floor.

I put my hand under her chin and made her look up. "I mean it. Lyra Potter, you are absolutely _radiant_."

She smiled this time. "You don't look half bad yourself, Draco."

I smirked at her. I was going to be dancing with the most beautiful girl in the room. Offering her my arm, I spoke in a more haughty tone. "Allow me to escort you ma'am."

She raised an eyebrow, her confidence returning somewhat. "Do I look like a ma'am to you?"

I chuckled. "Of course not."

"So why did you call me ma'am?" She asked, her eyes laughing, but her face serious.

I rolled my eyes at her. "I was trying to be funny." she said nothing. I sighed in defeat. "Lyra, just take my arm."

She sighed, and did so. "You're an idiot."

"You know, you're not the first person to tell me that tonight." This got her to snort in quiet laughter.

"Let me guess, Blaise? Or was it Theodore?"

"Both." I responded sardonically.

She laughed again, and allowed me to lead her over to where the two mentioned boys stood. They beamed when they saw us.

"You look amazing, Lyra." Theo said.

Blaise nodded in agreement. "I can see why you wanted to keep the surprise."

Lyra smiled. "Thank you boys. No date, Blaise?"

He chuckled. "Actually, here she comes now." he said, looking past her at a short blonde witch whom was dressed rather ostentatiously, in a peacock design dress.

Lyra gaped. "Luna?" she said in shock. "You're Blaise's date?"

The blonde smiled dreamily. "He asked me a few days ago."

Blaise shrugged when Lyra turned her shocked gaze on him. "I got to talking to her after the incident with you and Drake in the library. I wouldn't have had a date otherwise, so I figured, why not?"

Lyra shook her head at him and changed the subject. "Theo, can I talk to you a moment?" The dark haired wizard shrugged, and she dragged him away a bit.

I was about to say something to Blaise when the oak front doors opened, and we all turned to see the Durmstrang students enter with Professor Karkaroff. Krum was at the front of the party, accompanied by a pretty girl in a blue dress whom I didn't know. Over their heads, I saw that an area of the lawn had been transformed into a sort of grotto full of fairy lights - meaning hundreds of actual living fairies were sitting in the rosebushes that had been conjured there, and fluttering over the statues of what seemed to be Father Christmas and his reindeer.

Professor McGonagall's voice called, "Champions over here, please!"

Lyra was suddenly standing next to me again as the doors into the Great Hall opened as well, and the other students began to enter.

I offered my arm to her, and she rolled her eyes at me before taking it, and I lead her into the Hall.

The walls of the Great Hall had been covered in sparkling silver frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The House tables had vanished; instead there were about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about a dozen people.

We took seats at a table near the edge of the hall, our group sharing the table with a few Beauxbatons students and their dates. Once everyone was seated, the champions were paraded in.

I'd noticed that ever since her brother had made it past the Dragon, Lyra's anxiety had calmed down considerably about him being a champion.

As diner started, I found that I couldn't quite focus on the conversation that the table was having. I kept looking around the room, searching for the white blond hair that only a Malfoy seemed to be able to possess. I finally found my parents at a table not to far from the champion's table. He was sitting with a few of the other school's governors. Mother was dressed in olive green dress robes, while father was wearing robes of black velvet with a very high collar, I noted dryly that this made him look like a vicar.

"Don't you think, Dragon?"

"Hu?" I said, hearing Lyra's pet name for me. She was looking at me expectantly, as was most of the table. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

A Beauxbatons girl across from me giggled. "We can see zat." she said, making the rest of the table laugh.

The conversation went on, but Lyra was watching me with slight concern. "Everything alright?" she asked quietly.

I smiled half-heartedly at her, not able to completely hide my discomfort. "It's nothing." I said.

She frowned. "No, it's not." she said. "What's wrong?"

Her green eyes were gentle but they demanded an answer. I sighed. "My father." I muttered.

I saw her face flicker, but she smiled regardless of the sudden tenseness in her shoulders. "Ignore him. We can say hello to your mother, and then we don't have to go anywhere near them the rest of the night."

I frowned, realizing my misstep. "I'm not ashamed of you Lyra. I just don't want do deal with him."

Her shoulders relaxed a bit. "I know. Sorry." I bent over to kiss her cheek in attempt to reassure her once more before returning my attention to the meal, although I didn't miss the vivid blush that graced her face. I smirked inwardly.

* * *

><p>When all the food had been consumed, Dumbledore stood up and asked the students to do the same. Then, with a wave of his hand, all the tables zoomed back along the walls, leaving the floor clear, and then he conjured a raised platform into existence along the right wall. A set of drums, several guitars, a lute, a cello, and some bagpipes were set upon it.<p>

The Weird Sisters now trooped up onto the stage to wildly enthusiastic applause; they were all extremely hairy and dressed in black robes that had been artfully ripped and torn. They picked up their instruments, and I saw one of the Patil twins almost literally drag my brother to the dance floor with the other champions.

The Weird Sisters struck up a mournful tune and my brother's date seized his hands, placing one around her waist, and held the other, leading him in a rather botched version of a waltz.

I chuckled. "Poor thing." I said sarcastically. Really, it was his own fault going with her. both of the Patil twins were known for being show ponies, rather forceful ones at that.

"Would you like to dance?" Draco asked after a few other people and their dates had gotten onto the floor.

I blushed, but nodded all the same. "I'd love to." Taking my hand, he weaved us through a layer of people and onto the brightly lit dance floor.

I placed a hand on his shoulder, letting my other remain rested casually in his hand. Draco hesitated in putting his hand on my waist, and after a second, I remembered that my back was entirely bare. Blushing I looked at his chest, speaking to him. "It doesn't matter, just put your hand on my waist so we can dance. Idiot."

I saw his adams apple bob as he swallowed thickly before doing as I'd instructed. I jumped a bit though at the not completely unexpected warmth on my lower back as he pulled me closer to him. I stamped down on my blush as we began to dance.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that he was actually a rather capable dancer. The longer I danced, the more I felt the nervousness about dancing with him vanish. By the time we left the dance floor, several songs later, we had settled into a relaxed interaction, and were able to joke and laugh like nothing had changed.

It wasn't until I spotted Narcissa that he grew ridged again. "Relax." I said to him as I pulled him by his hand. "I just want to say hello, and thank her for her gift. Then you can continue avoiding them."

"Fine." he said, glaring at the floor.

"Are you ever going to explain what this is all about?" I asked. When he didn't respond, I rolled my eyes and kept walking.

"Mrs, Malfoy!" I called, since we were coming up from behind them.

The older witch turned, and beamed when she saw Draco and I. "Oh, dear, it's good to see you. Merry Christmas."

I grinned. "Merry Christmas." I elbowed Draco. "She's your mother, don't be rude."

He sighed, allowing himself to smile at her. "Hi Mum." he said. "You look great."

She laughed. "Thank you sweetie. It's lovely to see you." she then looked between the two of us, smiling slyly. "I saw you dancing before. Draco darling, why didn't you tell me that the two of you had become an item?"

"Hopefully because he has the self respect for that to not be the case." sneered a voice. I looked to see Lucius Malfoy.

I smiled tightly at the man. "So nice to see you Mr. Malfoy." I said, my voice cool despite my indignation.

The wizard ignored me however, and looked at his son. "I expected you to be here with Miss Parkinson." he said.

Draco rolled his eyes. "That girl's a nightmare Father, honestly. How anyone could be expected to go on a date with her is beyond me."

"Well regardless of you _opinion_ of her, she is from a respectable pureblooded family. And she would have most certainly been a better choice of partners for tonight." Mr. Malfoy said, as though I wasn't here.

"_Lyra_, is my date Father, and I prefer it that way." Draco snapped, and instantly looked as though he regretted it. I noticed that Narcissa looked as though she were invisible.

Lucius Malfoy looked darkly furious. "Potter is a half blood, such trash is clearly of no worth as your date. So I would _suggest_ you go and find Miss Parkinson."

Draco looked about to reply, but my pride would not allow me to remain outside of this family squabble. "Excuse me." I said, trying to keep my voice calm. "But as Draco just finished telling you, _I_ am his date. And I am _not_ trash." The man looked ready to curse me, but I kept going. "My brother and I may not be pureblood like your family, but the Potter name was well respected in past generations. Just because we're the only ones left doesn't mean it's any less.".

"No, it became less respectable when that fool James Potter married that worthless mudblood mother of yours." Lucius sneered.

I would have shouted at him, but Draco put his hand around my waist, and spoke instead. "Lilly Potter was a brave woman, Father. And from what I've heard, smarter than you could have ever hoped to be. Now if you'll excuse us." And with that Draco pulled me away. "I'm sorry about him." he muttered to me as we sat down at one of the tables along the wall.

I stared at him in confused awe. "Dragon... what you said..."

He smiled. "I remember you telling me once that your mother was Head Girl in her day. You have to be smart for that. And I also remember those memories you showed Blaise and I last year." I lowered my eyes, I vividly remembered their trip into the pensive. I had been so afraid of what they'd think of me when it'd been over. Draco put his hand under my chin, making me look back up. "So," he continued. "I can say with confidence, she was a very brave woman. I meant every word I said to my father."

I think that was what made me kiss him.

* * *

><p>I saw Hermione argue with Weasley. I'd wanted to yell at him on her behalf, but I knew it would only cause problems. Instead, I'd walked over to them, and spoken to Lyra's brother instead. "Could I have a word?"<p>

Despite the wary look he gave me, and the hateful stare the red head gave me. He stood and followed me out of Weasley's earshot.

"Is Hermione alright?" I asked.

Harry looked startled. "You saw that?" I nodded. "I'd like to say that she is, but I honestly don't know. Ron was pretty harsh."

"What'd he say?"

"That Krum's just using her, he gave a few reasons why he would. Most of them involving me or the tournament."

"Merlin." I said, scowling. "Lyra said he was an idiot, but I never thought he'd do that. Did he even bother to tell her she looked nice, or did he just immediately jump her?" The Gryffindor gave me an odd look. "What?"

He shook his head. "You really like her, don't you?"

I stared at him in shock. "What? No, we're just friends."

He smirked. "Cho and I are just friends, but I still like her."

I frowned. "And you're not trying to hex me?"

Harry laughed. "No, I promised my sister I'd keep an open mind. And you're not so bad," he said. "for a Slytherin."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks I suppose."

He shrugged. "No problem."

Around twenty minutes later, I went outside, feeling a bit bored and wanting air. Shockingly enough, I found the witch sitting on a bench, surrounded by fairy lights. I walked over and they scattered a bit, but I ignored it.

"Hermione, are you alright?" I asked.

She looked up, tears going down her face, but she still looked pretty well put together. "Oh, hi, Theo." she said, reaching up to wipe at her eyes.

I reached forward before she could though, and pulled her hands away. "Even if you have water proof makeup on, that doesn't mean it's smudge proof." I reached inside my robes and pulled out the (mostly) decorative pocket handkerchief. "Here," I said, handing it to her.

She laughed wetly as she took it, dabbing at her face. "You actually have one of these?" she asked, smiling.

I grinned. "There's that beautiful smile." I said. "And yes, clearly, they _are_ useful."

She laughed again. "Thank you."

I shrugged. "It's not a problem." I tilted my head. "So, do you want to talk about it?" I asked.

The smile vanished, and she let out a shaky sigh. "Not really." She said, but continued anyway. "It's just - it's bad enough that Ron thinks Krum is using me. But it's worse that not ten minutes after that, Krum asked if I wanted to help him with that stupid egg." she dabbed at her eyes again.

"What?" I asked, outraged.

She threw me a placating glance. "It's fine. It's not like I actually liked him or anything."

That threw me a bit. If Krum wasn't the guy she'd told me about in her letters, then who was? "Then why'd you go with him?" I found myself asking.

She shrugged. "I was just stunned. Pleasantly so. I'm not exactly the prettiest girl out there, and it was flattering, since he's this big quidditch star. And besides that, the guy I'd wanted to ask me never did."

I frowned. "Weasley?"

She shook her head. "No. God, I don't even know his name actually." I stared at her in surprise. "Lyra's got me set up with this pen pal. He's amazing. He really gets me you know? I'd been dropping hints, but he never asked and I..." she sighed again and didn't finish the sentence.

I stared at her in shock. She liked her pen pal? _Me?_ I found myself smiling at her. "Maybe he didn't get the chance to, after you said yes to Krum?" That was what happened after all.

She shrugged. "Maybe. Or maybe there was some other girl he wanted to go with, someone prettier."

I scoffed, and stood up. "Come on." I said holding out a hand.

She looked up at me in surprise. "What?"

I grinned. "I don't care what you or anyone else seems to thing, but I would like to dance with the belle of the ball." I said, purposefully using the muggle term. She blushed, stuttering a bit. "Take my hand, Goldie."

She stopped gibbering and looked at me with wide eyes. "Y-you?"

I smirked. "Who _else_?" I asked. She kept staring at me in shock, and I rolled my eyes. "Do you want to dance or not, Hermione?"

* * *

><p>"What the hell is Theo doing?"<p>

I looked up and followed Draco's gaze to a pair of dancers. With a start, I realized that it was indeed Theodore, and one Hermione Granger. I shot up from my seat. "Yes!" I said happily.

"Wait, you _knew_ about that?" Blaise asked from my left.

I grinned. "Who do you think orchestrated it?"

"What?" Draco asked, looking irritated.

I rolled my eyes. "I know you don't like her, but he's happy, give the guy a break."

He glared at me, then shifted his gaze to something behind me. "Well, hate to burst your bubble, but I don't think Weaslebee is of the same opinion."

"What?" I turned to see Ron marching over, red faced. "Oh no you don't" I growled, kicking off my little silver shoes and picking up my dress so that I could jog over and intercept him. "Ron, don't even think about it." I snapped.

"That Slytherin's got his hands all over Hermione!" he hissed back.

I glared. "They're just dancing Ron. And incase you'd forgotten, _I'm_ a Slytherin."

Harry walked over. "Mate, leave it be. You'll only dig your own grave."

Ron looked about to say something when the red-faced red-head sneered before turning on his heel and marching away. I looked to my brother. "Thanks."

He raised an eyebrow. "If he hurts Hermione..." he left it hanging.

I smiled. "I know, I know. I give you complete permission to disembowel him if he does. But that's assuming there's anything left after Hermione and I are done with him."

* * *

><p><strong>If I get no reviews on these two chapters, I might actually cry.<strong>


	37. Half

Everybody got up late on boxing day. By the time I dragged myself out of my bed, the other girls hadn't moved. Millicent Bulstrode hadn't so much as stopped snoring. I was surprised when I found Draco and Blaise already up and out in the common room. They were having a rather lazy conversation, punctuated with yawns.

"Morning." I sighed, sitting down beside Draco.

"Morning." Blaise said as Draco stifled another yawn.

The blond reached towards me and pulled me to him so that I was effectively tucked into his side. I didn't mind all that much though, since he was warm, and I enjoyed this new level of contact that had sprung up between us.

"I still don't get you two." Blaise admitted. "Are you or are you not going out?"

I chuckled thickly, still half asleep. "I asked Sara much the same question yesterday concerning her and George."

"That's nice, but I'm asking _you_." he said.

I shrugged. "Ask Draco." I offered, resting my head against the aforementioned boy's shoulder.

Draco snorted. "I hadn't really put a label on it."

"Neither had I, that's why I said for him to ask you." I said.

"Well, then I believe Blaise has his answer then." He said, shrugging.

"No I don't!" the Italian cried indignantly.

"We're undefined." I yawned.

"But I do believe it's exclusive." Draco added.

"Was that even an issue to begin with?"

"No."

"I'm sorry but would you two mind including me in this little conversation?" Blaise said with an indignant huff.

A sleepy laugh came from the direction of the boys' dormitory. "That's a bit of a lost cause there, Blaise. Now that they're an item, I'd thought that you would have anticipated this." We all turned to see Theo walking over, rubbing the sleep from his face.

I grinned. "Get in late last night?" I asked slyly.

The black haired boy gave me a toothy smile as he sat down beside Blaise. "Nope. But we were the last ones to leave the great hall. Or, well, the last students anyway."

I chuckled. "Bet Krum was happy about that."

"Oh, he was ecstatic. By the way, Lyra, could you check the back of my head, I think I might have some holes in my scalp."

I busted out laughing at that, as did he. When we reigned ourselves in, I smiled warmly at him. "But you and Hermione had fun though? She wasn't upset about you being her pen pal?"

He grinned. "If anything it only made me more endearing to her. You know, right before I asked her to dance, she told me she was sad that her anonymous pen friend hadn't asked her out before Krum. Seemed convinced that he had some other, prettier witch on his arm last night."

I smiled. "Well, I'm glad you're happy. And you owe me and Harry one for running interference with Ron last night."

The Slytherin boy blanched. "Oh, Merlin. I'm sorry about that."

I shrugged. "Don't worry. It was more my brother's problem than mine. Though I shudder to think of how he'll handle Hermione today. That is, if he's still speaking to her at all."

Theo now looked a bit guilty. "I hadn't thought of that... Bloody hell, now I feel selfish. I shouldn't have-"

"Oooh, no. Not this again. Hermione Granger is a big girl and can take care of herself. It was her decision to dance with you last night. Idiot." I said smartly, cutting him off.

"Sorry."

"You should be." In the short silence that followed, I noticed the glowering look on Draco's face, and the uncomfortable looks Blaise was throwing us. I raised an eyebrow at the angry blond. "Something to say, Dragon?"

He glared at me. "Of all the girls in the castle, you had to set him up with your brother's mudblood pet?"

I ripped myself away from his side, standing up and looking as furious as Theo did, upon hearing that insult. "Hermione is a good person, and she makes Theo happy. Is that so wrong? Can you not restrain yourself, even for his sake?"

"So what if her parent's are muggles, Draco?" Theodore snapped. "She's a brilliant witch, a genius, even when compared with a pureblood. She's kind, she's funny, she's loyal. And get this, she _likes me_. Just because you're my friend doesn't mean I'm going to stand for you insulting her. You're such a selfish, big-headed prat sometimes, Malfoy. Get over yourself."

And with that the boy stormed from the dungeon.

I glared. "Well, now you've done it." I snapped, before following.

* * *

><p>"They're not wrong you know."<p>

"Shut up Blaise." I seethed.

"No, you shut up." Blaise snapped back. "Lyra said it last night. Theo's happy. Give the guy a break. Just because he and Granger are an item - and they might not even be an item - doesn't mean that they're asking you to join Harry's motley band of misfits. Just let them be happy. Seriously mate, wake up a minute and ask yourself, when was the last time you saw Theodore Nott so much as _look_ at a girl, _as_ a girl? Are you really going to pressure him out of this?"

I could not restrain myself from sighing irritably. "I just don't like it, alright?"

Blaise rolled his eyes. "I'm not exactly overjoyed about this either, but it's not my life we're talking about, nor is it your life."

I looked into the fireplace. "I guess you're right." though I'd have preferred that he wasn't.

"You know I'm right." the darker skinned boy said. "And think about this for a moment: before Lyra took it upon herself to turn Theo into her little pet project, the bloke was a depressing nightmare. Every decision she's made involving Theo has been good for him. And now we finally have our friend back. Are you really going to question that kind of gift?"

"Ok, ok, enough from the peanut gallery." I griped.

"Then start listening for once, and get over yourself." Blaise said, before standing up and leaving.

It was a few more minutes before I myself went upstairs for breakfast. In the Great Hall it became apparent that most of the castle was still in bed. The only people even at the Slytherin Table besides my own friends were third years and below, with two or three older students.

I saw Lyra look up at me when I walked in, but after that, she looked determinedly down at her breakfast, as though raspberries and pumpernickel toast was the most interesting things she'd even encountered. Why the girl ate so little was beyond my understanding. She claimed it was owing to a small appetite, but I'd seen my owl eat more than she did. (Then again Archimedes was a glutton)

Swallowing my pride I walked over to where the three of them sat. Taking a deep breath and looking at the wall behind Theo, I spoke. "I'll try to be less... abrasive, concerning your little girlfriend." I grumbled.

Theo nodded stiffly at me, but Lyra glared a moment more before scooting aside so that I could sit beside her. "Would it kill you to ever give a straight up apology?" she said, popping a raspberry into her mouth.

"I don't know, it might."

And just like that, the gears clicked back into place. Theo smirked, Blaise rolled his eyes, and Lyra shoved her shoulder against mine. "Prat." she muttered, smiling.

* * *

><p>According to Harry, it seemed that for once, Ron was taking the high road. He and Hermione had reached an unspoken agreement to not discuss either their row, or her involvement with Theodore. My brother also waisted no time in telling me of the conversation he and Ron had overheard between Madam Maxime and Hagrid, the night of the ball. Though he seemed surprised when I brushed off the revelation of Hagrid's half-giant status.<p>

"I don't care if giants are reputed to be violent and horrible. Tell me this, does it change the fact that Hagrid is a kind soul? Not the most polished of personalities, I'll grant you, but his heart is in the right place. Apart from his rather misguided appreciation for dangerous magical creatures, I don't see how his parentage could have possibly influenced his nature."

"But Ron said-"

"Ron grew up in the magical world, where stigmas against half-breeds are rampant. It's the same sort of bigotry that's involved with blood purity issues."

Harry looked as though he might argue, but he couldn't deny that I was right, so he'd let the subject drop.

It was now time to think about the homework that we'd all neglected during the holiday. Everyone seemed to be feeling rather flat now that Christmas was over - everyone except my brother and I, that is. We were both starting to (once again) feel slightly nervous, for both similar and different reasons.

The trouble was that February the twenty-fourth looked a lot closer from this side of Christmas. Harry still had yet to figure out his egg problem, and I had trouble not fearing for his life, especially if he didn't figure out this clue in time. While I was concerned for his life, Harry seemed more irritated by the fact that Cho had gone with Cedric and not himself, as well as the fact of how very embarrassed he would be if he was the only champion to not figure out the riddle.

And so the first day of the new term arrived, and I set off to lessons, weighed down with books, parchment, and quills as usual, but also with the smoldering fear of being left alone in the worst way.

Snow was still thick on the grounds, and the greenhouse windows were covered in condensation so thick that we couldn't see out of them during Herbology. Nobody was looking forward to Care of Magical Creatures much in this weather, though Draco made the joke that the Skrewts would probably keep us warm rather nicely, either by chasing us, or by blasting off so forcefully that Hagrid's cabin would catch fire.

When we arrived at the hut however, we found an elderly witch with closely cropped gray hair and a very prominent chin standing before his front door.

"Hurry up now, the bell rang five minutes ago," she barked at the students who were struggling towards her in the snow.

"Who're you?" I heard someone ask, looking around, I saw Ron, Harry, and Hermione making their way over. "Where's Hagrid?" Ron asked.

"My name is Professor Grubbly-Plank," she said briskly. "I am your temporary Care of Magical Creatures teacher."

"Where's Hagrid?" Harry repeated loudly.

"He is indisposed." said Professor Grubbly-Plank shortly.

Soft and unpleasant laughter reached my ears I turned to find Pansy, Carly, and several other Slytherins finally joining the class. All of them looked gleeful, and not at all surprised to see the substitute. I threw a questioning look at Draco, who shrugged innocently. He'd been with me all morning, so he wouldn't have been privy to whatever new gossip was undoubtably about to be exposed in the next few minutes.

"This way please," said Professor Grubbly-Plank, and she strode off around the paddock where the Beauxbatons horses were shivering. Draco and I followed slightly behind the rest of the class.

"Something I should know?" I asked him lowly.

He frowned. "Like I care about that oa- I mean, Professor Hagrid?" he asked, correcting himself when I glared at him. "Besides, Merlin only knows what's been up with Pansy lately."

I felt a smirk bloom across my face. Draco arched a peroxide eyebrow, "What?"

I shrugged. "Nothing, just that what's been up with her is _jealousy_."

"Oh." he snorted in amusement. "Figures. Then again, not my fault if the daft bint cant take a fucking hint."

I would have said something else, but I was cut off by the many of the girls in the class releasing a simultaneous "ooooooooh!", making me look ahead. Tethered to a tree on the edge of the forest, was a large and beautiful unicorn. It was so brightly white that the snow around it looked almost grey. It was pawing the ground nervously with it's golden hooves and throwing back it's horned head.

"Oh it's so beautiful!" cooed Lavender Brown. "How did she get it? They're supposed to be really hard to catch!"

"Boys, keep back!" barked Professor Grubbly-Plank, throwing out an arm and catching my brother hard in the chest. "They prefer a woman's touch, unicorns. Girls to the front, and approach with care, come on, easy does it..."

She and the other girls walked slowly forward toward the creature, leaving me and the males of the class standing near the paddock fence, watching.

Draco looked at me, surprised to find that I was still there. "What, you don't want to go see the unicorn?" he asked.

I shrugged and gave him a lopsided smile. "They don't really do it for me. Though I wont deny that they're exceptionally beautiful animals."

"Anyone ever tell you that you're strange?"

I chuckled. "All the time, though would you have me any other way?"

A soft smile lit up his face, and he reached out, catching my cold hand in his leather gloved one. "I suppose not." He murmured, pulling me in closer, so that I was leaning into his side.

"Mmm.." I hummed, pressing closer. "Why is it that you're always warmer than I am?" I joked. Draco's eyebrows shot up, and he pulled away, releasing my hand. "What're you doing?"

He smirked at me, shrugging out of his black winter cloak. "Well, you're cold right?" He said, pulling off the garment and handing it to me. "Besides, you need it more than I do." he said, picking at his heavy wool jumper, now visible beneath his jacket.

I rolled my eyes. "You know, you can't keep giving me your cloths." I said, taking the cloak anyways, pulling it over my own.

"Well, so long as you give them back later." He said. "Besides, it's not my fault if your winter things aren't heavy enough."

"Well, one way or the other," I said, taking his hand again. "thank you, my fine gentleman." I teased.

He snorted haughtily. "I am a proper Malfoy, of course i'm a gentleman."

"A proper Malfoy, are you? Well, then I suppose _this_ is quite the scandal." I teased, giving his hand a squeeze.

His grey eyes softened. "Well, maybe not so proper." he said softly, squeezing my hand back, and leaning down. I was just beginning to shut my eyes when A throat cleared in front of us.

My eyes shot open and I looked to see Harry, arms crossed and looking rather irritated. "Very nice." he said sarcastically. "Can I borrow my sister back for a minute?" he asked

Draco rolled his eyes and let go of my hand. "Go." he said to me. "We'll talk later."

I gave him a smirk and then followed my brother.

"Can you two please restrain yourselves?" Harry complained. "At least when I'm around?"

I scoffed. "Harry, if this is why you needed to talk to me then-"

"It's not, but I'd still appreciate it if you'd knock it off." He said, as we approached a distressed looking Hermione and a pink Ron. "Show her, Mione."

I raised an eyebrow as the Gryffindor witch held out a news article. "Parkinson gave this to me. It's from the morning paper."

I took it and paled when I saw the title. The article was topped with a picture of Hagrid looking extremely shifty.

**DUMBLEDORE'S GIANT MISTAKE**

_Albus Dumbledore, eccentric Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has never been afraid to make controversial staff appointments, writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent. In September of this year, he hired Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, the notoriously jinx-happy ex-Auror, to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, a decision that caused many raised eyebrows at the Ministry of Magic given Moody's well-known habit of attacking anybody who makes a sudden movement in his presence. Mad-Eye Moody, however, looks responsible and kindly when set beside the part-human Dumbledore employs to teach Care of Magical Creatures. _

_Rubeus Hagrid, who admits to being expelled from Hogwarts in this third year, has enjoyed the position of gamekeeper at the school ever since, a job secured for him by Dumbledore. Last year, however, Hagrid used his mysterious influence over the Headmaster to secure the additional post of Care of Magical Creatures teacher, over the heads of many better-qualified candidates._

_An alarmingly large and ferocious-looking man, Hagrid has been using his newfound authority to terrify the students in his care with a succession of horrifying creatures. While Dumbledore turns a blind eye, Hagrid has maimed several students during a series of-_

"What is this rubbish?" I asked, too furious to continue reading. "How the bloody hell did Skeeter find out in the first place?"

"We don't know." Harry said.

"You're telling us this is the first you've heard of it?" Ron snapped. I looked at him cooly. "I'd have thought that you're stupid boyfriend would have told you. It mentions him you know. About what happened last year with Buckbeak."

I glared at him. "Draco's been with me all morning, so he hasn't seen it either. And he's also not stupid enough to talk to Rita Skeeter. If it mentions him, then I'm sure it's because someone else told her about the incident." I said evenly.

"Whatever." he spat.

I huffed. "What's your problem? And besides, shouldn't we be more concerned over the fact that Hagrid might lose his job, instead of who I spend my time with?"

We spent the remainder of class, and then on during lunch discussing the problems this would cause and how Skeeter could have found out. When I'd informed Draco of the article, he'd informed he that someone had told him at lunch, and then clammed up. Very wisely choosing to say nothing. After classes were over Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I tried to talk to Hagrid himself, to see if he was alright, but he wouldn't open the door. The curtains were pulled shut, and the door was locked, though we could hear Fang scratching at the door, barking.


	38. The lake, and the idiot

**A thousand appologies my lovely readers, for there really is no excuse for waiting so long to update. Though I shall give you some anyway. In the time since I've last written, I've signed a contract with the US Military (which will not go into effect until july), I've fallen in love with a fantastic and damn near perfect young man, and I've been dealing with school shit.**

**Anyway, enjoy! All but my own characters and sub plots belong to JKR!**

* * *

><p>That night, just after dinner, I turned to follow the Gryffindors to their common room, needing to talk to Harry. But Draco caught my hand and pulled me back towards him. "What, you weren't even going to say goodnight?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me.<p>

I rolled my eyes. "Goodnight, Dragon."

His face fell almost imperceptibly. "Well, don't make it sound like such a hardship." He grumbled.

I sighed and shook my head. "Sorry, I know I've been ignoring you. Look, I just need to talk to Harry about something, alright? I'll see you in the morning." I assured him.

He smirked. "Promise?"

I chuckled and rolled my eyes. "_Goodnight,_ Draco." I said, turning to walk away.

He pulled me back and pecked me on the cheek. "Goodnight." He said, leaving directly after. I shook my head at his antics, and followed the last of the students up the stairs.

Up in the Gryffindor common room, I found Harry, Ron, and Hermione all sitting together on the sofa. I sat in the armchair by the fire. "Did you guys see Hagrid?" I asked carefully.

They nodded grimly. "He's distraught." Harry said. "That Skeeter woman is just..."

I nodded. "I know."

The four of us talked quietly for several minutes, until I motioned for Harry to follow me. Standing, we both walked towards the other end of the mostly deserted common room, out of everyone else's earshot. Harry gave me an unsure look. "What's wrong?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, crossing my arms. "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? Something's bugging you, other than Hagrid."

Harry's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "No there isn't."

I glared slightly. "Yes, there is. I'm your sister, you can tell me alright?"

After a minute, he relented. "It's this whole egg thing." he grunted.

I stared at him. "What do you mean? You told me last week that you had it worked out already." He wouldn't look at me, and I narrowed my eyes. "You're not even close to it, are you?" I had to restrain myself from yelling at him.

"No, not really." he quipped, making me glare.

I took a deep breath through the nose. "Have you got _any_ leads on the blasted thing?"

He shifted from foot to foot. "Cedric gave me a hint the night of the ball." he grumbled, a sour look on his face.

I raised my eyebrows at him. "And did it help?"

He looked away. "Don't know. Haven't actually tried it yet." This time, I smacked him on the side of his head, making him yelp. "What was that for?"

I glared hard at him. "This is about Cho being his date isn't it?" Harry wouldn't answer, so I huffed and spoke my mind. "Harry, Sara is in Ravenclaw. And you know something strange? She's told me about Chang. She's smart, athletic, loyal, and pretty; but she's also a fucking bitch. She looks down her nose at people less talented than she is. She's over emotional, and she clings to Diggory like a damn leech. So get over it."

Harry's eyes were wide in shock, "You don't know th-"

"But you don't either." I snapped. "You don't know her. I haven't spoken to her myself, but Sara shares a common room with her. Are you saying that my best friend's lying?" The Gryffindor scowled and looked away. "So, get over yourself, and tell me this hint of Diggory's"

He rolled his green eyes. "It was something stupid. He said I should take it to the Prefect's bathroom, and 'mull things over in the hot water'."

I frowned. "It's not much, but you should try it." I said in a softer voice. "We don't have a lot of time, and you know that. You need to at least _try_. If that means swallowing your bloody Gryffindor pride, then so be it."

He wouldn't look at me, but after a long minute, he nodded reluctantly.

* * *

><p>Draco was sitting on his bed across the room, reading quietly, radiating a smug sort of content. Theo was starring at the ceiling with a dopey smile on his face.<p>

The only thing I could think of to say: "Bloody hell I need a girlfriend."

This statement earned their attention. Draco shut his book, and gave me a look as though he were wondering about my mental state. "What?"

I rolled my eyes. "You and Nott are almost disgustingly happy. If this is the product of being in a relationship, maybe I should try it."

Theo gave me an odd look. "Have fun with that."

I glared. "And just what is that supposed to mean, you Huffelpuff?"

He rolled his eyes. "Until Lyra set us up, I would never have seen myself with Hermione." he said, ignoring Draco's foul look. "Hell, I wouldn't have even considered dating if I hadn't fallen for the witch. And Draco is with, well, Lyra."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Your point being?"

He shrugged. "Well, it's Lyra. The fact that she is in a relationship at all is indicative of Draco's state of being. And I was set up by the girl, and she's such a perfectionist, she wouldn't have done it if she wasn't positive it would work out well."

"So you're saying that I should just wait for her to set me up with someone?" I asked dryly.

The dark haired boy shook his head. "I don't doubt she will eventually, but no. I'm saying that being in a relationship doesn't necessarily mean you'll be happy. A _good_ relationship might mean that, but there is such a thing as a bad relationship."

Draco gave him a blank look. "Are you sure you're in the right dorm? Shouldn't you be staying with Lyra and Parkinson?"

Theo threw his pillow at him. "Shut up. Prat. You're no better, what with the mushy looks you keep sending Lyra. You been borrowing her tampons recently?"

I frowned in distaste. "That's foul." I said, not wanting to think of Lyra and her _feminine products. _From the look on Draco's face, he agreed wholeheartedly.

* * *

><p>About two weeks before the second task was to take place, one of my worst fears about it were confirmed.<p>

Harry _still_ had no-fucking-clue about that egg of his. Even after our conversation.

"I told you to follow that stupid advice _three weeks ago_!" I said in a harsh whisper, after he'd sought me out in the library to impart this news onto me.

"I know, I know!" he said, waving me off. "Look, if I tell Hermione about it, she'll flip. But you're my sister, so I was hoping..."

"That I'd help you again." I said, irritation dripping from my voice.

"Look, I at least got the thing open, didn't I?"

"With Diggory's help!" I snapped. "What in the world were you thinking? Continuing to wait this long to take his stupid advice?" Harry said nothing, shifting uncomfortably, also not looking at me. After staring at him for a moment, the reasons for my irritation changed. "This is still about Chang. Isn't it."

"No!" he said immediately.

"Yes it it!" I spat. "You Gryffindors and your bloody pride! You didn't want to take his advice because he's with Chang, and you're not. And _don't_ lie to me Harry James Potter. Do you not remember what I told you about her?"

He looked rather like a petulant child in this moment. Absently, I noted that this look worked for Draco much better than him. Hell, more than half the time, it was because Draco _was_ a petulant child. Finally, my brother let out a huff. "Fine! Okay? I didn't take his advice because I was mad at him. Satisfied?"

"No." I glared. "But all the same, lets have it with that riddle."

_"Come seek us where our voices sound,_

_We cannot sing above the ground,_

_And while you're searching, ponder this:_

_We've taken what you'll sorely miss,_

_An hour long you'll have to look,_

_To recover what we took,_

_But past an hour - the prospect's black,_

_Too late, it's gone, it won't come back."_

I paused a moment before sighing. "Well, that sounds like a barrel of fun."

"This is serious, Lyra."

"I know that!" I snapped. Sighing again, I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Lets just go by the verses. The first two lines clearly involve water, owing to the fact that you didn't hear them till you put it in the bath."

"Moaning Myrtle implied that there were merpeople in the Black Lake." Harry offered.

I looked up. "There are." I said. "We see them all the time through the windows in the Slytherin common room. Though since they're cold water merfolk, they're some right ugly blighters."

"What does water temperature have to do with it?" He asked, cocking his head.

I frowned. "Have you never read through your copy of _Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them_?" when he stared at me blankly, I rolled my eyes. "Who am I talking to here? Of course you haven't." Digging into my satchel, I pulled out my copy of the short book. Flipping to the page I needed, I read aloud.

_"Merpeople exist throughout the world, though they vary in appearance almost as much as humans. Their habits and customs remain as mysterious as those of the centaur, though wizards who have mastered the language of Mermish speak of highly organized communities varying in size according to habitat, and some have elaborately constructed dwellings. Like the centaurs, the merpeople have declined "being" status in favor of a "beast" classification (see introduction)._

_The oldest recorded merpeople were known as sirens (Greece) and it is in warmer waters that we find the beautiful mermaids so frequently depicted in Muggle literature and painting. The selkies of Scotland and the Merrows of Ireland are less beautiful, but they share that love of music which is common to all merpeople."_

Looking back up at him, I shut the book. "Not much to help you there, but the merfolk aren't really the problem."

Harry frowned. "Then what is? The squid?"

I shook my head. "Yes and no. I somehow doubt the merpeople are going to harm you, Dumbledore wouldn't stand for it. No, the _other_ creatures in the water are what concern me, which, yes, includes the giant fucking squid. And then there's the issue that you can't breath underwater."

He gave me a blank look. "Really? I hadn't realized."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm only thinking aloud. If you don't want my help, go ask Hermione." When he said nothing and looked away I stretched and stood up. "I'll be right back."

"Hey where are you-" but I'd already disappeared between the shelves of the library. It didn't take me long to find the book I was looking for, and I returned to the table to find a rather perplexed brother of mine.

"What was that about?" He asked, eyeing the heavy book in my hand.

"Hopefully, a good start." I said, dropping it in front of him and sitting down. "I found it a few weeks ago when I was looking for a book on advanced charms for one of Flitwick's essays."

Frowning, he read the title. _"Aquatilium carminibus et veneficiis._ And what is it exactly?"

I rolled my eyes and pulled the book towards me. "It's latin for 'Aquatic spells and enchantments' so what do you think?"

"Do you think it'll help at all?" he asked, leaning across the table to look at it's now open pages.

Looking up from the table of contents, I gave him a very scathing look. "What was I just saying? Keep up, would you?"

"What's got you in such a foul mood?"

"You." I snapped, looking back down. "This chapter is probably going to be where we find what we need, if it's in here that is. 'Underwater dueling'."

For the next hour, the two of us kept looking through book after book, trying to find something. We didn't stop until Hermione had happened upon us. Silently, I cursed myself for not sitting in the couch nook. She never went back there.

Taking one look at all of the books and notes we had, she frowned. "What's going on?"

I beat Harry to it. "Harry's helping me research something for my alchemy class. We've been focusing on the base elements, and I've got a big essay on water, and how to overcome it." I felt my slytherin pride puff up a bit at the smoothly executed lie.

She frowned at Harry. "Are you making him do this to repay you for doing hid homework all the time?"

I grinned. "Would you rather be doing it? You already do Ron's, and what's another set of essays anyhow? Especially when all three sets have to be different."

She rolled her eyes. "Point taken. Well, I'll leave you to it." she said before disappearing among the shelves.

Harry looked at me oddly. I shrugged. "You're the one who didn't want to tell the witch."

He shook his head. "No, it's not that. I'm just a bit disturbed by how easily you lies to her."

"Slytherin." I sang. "And anyway, maybe you'll be a bit more _turbed_ after we solve your little problem."

"Turbed?

I frowned. "Well if disfunction is the opposite of function, then I figure that turbed is the opposite of disturbed." **(A/N: I don't usually put notes in the middle of my story, but if you get this reference, then I love you and you're awesome.)**

Harry rolled his eyes and we went back to work. Unfortunately for us though, just as it had before Harry had faced off against the Horntail, time was slipping away as though somebody had bewitched all the clocks to go extra fast. There was a week to go before February twenty-fourth (there was still time)... There were five days to go (we were bound to find something soon, especially since we'd let Hermione and Theo in on it)... Three days to go (_please let us find something... Merlin please_)...

With two days left, Harry had stopped eating again. The only good thing about Monday was the return of a barn owl that we'd sent to Sirius. I pulled off the parchment and unrolled it, and saw the shortest letter Sirius had ever written to us.

_Send date of next Hogsmeade weekend by return owl._

Harry took it from me, turning the parchment over and looked at the back, I tried not to feel disappointed when it was still blank.

"It's the weekend after next." I said lowly, so as not to be overheard. "Here - take my quill and send it back now."

Scribbling the dates down on the back of the letter, Harry tied it to the brown owl's leg, and we watched it take flight again. I really don't know what we'd expected. Advice on how to survive underwater? Sirius was a dog, not a frog.

"Why's he want to know about the next Hogsmeade weekend for?" asked Ron, who'd read the note over Harry's shoulder.

"Dunno," Harry said dully. The momentary happiness that had seemed to flare inside of him at the sight of the owl had already died. "Come on... Care of Magical Creatures."

Wether Hagrid was trying to make up for the Blast-Ended-Skrewts, or because there were now only two skrewts left, or because he was trying to prove he could do anything that Professor Grubbly-Plank could, I couldn't tell, but Hagrid had been continuing her lesson on unicorns ever since he'd returned to work. It turned out that Hagrid knew quite as much about unicorns as he did about monsters, though it was clear that he found their lack of poisonous fangs disappointing.

Today he had managed to capture two unicorn foals. Unlike full-grown unicorns, they were pure gold. Parvati and Lavender had gone into transports of delight at the sight of them, and even Parkinson had had to work hard to conceal how much she liked them. Once again, while I was not unimpressed, I was not about to act like a five year old. Besides that, even baby unicorns weren't enough to really lift my spirit.

"Easier ter spot than the adults," Hagrid told the class. "They turn silver when they're abou' two years old, an' they grow horns at aroun' four. Don' go pure white till they're full grown, 'round about seven. They're a bit more trusting when they're babies...don' mind boys so much... C'mon, move in a bit, yeh can pat 'em if yeh want... Give 'em a few o' these sugar lumps..."

As everyone crowded around the two creatures, I leaned against the paddock fence, shivering slightly against the cold February wind.

I jumped slightly when two warm arms wrapped around my waist, and I was slightly pulled back into an even warmer cloak. Sighing in content Draco buried his cold face into my neck.

"You're the only girl I know who honestly wouldn't coo over a gold unicorn." He said, his lips brushing against the junction of my neck and shoulder.

I smirked. "I suppose not. But I like dragons better anyway."

"Roar." _That_ was not expected. And moreover, it had me dissolving into giggles. I could feel him smirking against my skin.

"There's that smile." He hummed. Tightening his grip around my waist, he kissed a soft trail up to my ear. "You need to relax, love. There's a reason I've dubbed your brother as The-Boy-Who-Refuses-To-Die."

I shoved against him "Would you shut up already?" I growled, secretly hoping he was right.

* * *

><p>By the evening before the second task, I felt as though we were all trapped in a nightmare. I was fully aware that even if, by some miracle, we managed to find a suitable spell, Harry's have a real job mastering it overnight. How could we have let this happen? Why couldn't Harry have just sucked up his pride and figured out this egg problem sooner? Why had I ever let my own mind wander in class - what if a teacher had once mentioned how to breath underwater?<p>

I sat with my brother, Hermione, Theo, and even Ron in the library as the sun set outside, tearing feverishly through page after page of spells, hidden from one another by the massive piles of books on the desk in front of each of us. My heart gave a huge leap every time we saw the word 'water' on a page, but more often than not it was merely 'take two pints of water, half a pound of shredded mandrake leaves, and a newt...'

"I don't reckon it can be done," said Ron's voice flatly from the other side of the table. "There's nothing. _Nothing. _Closest thing was that thing to dry up puddles and ponds, that Drought Charm, but that was nowhere near powerful enough to drain the lake."

"There must be something," Hermione muttered, moving a candle closer to her. Her eyes were so tired she was pouring over the tiny print of _Olde and Forgotten Bewitchments and Charmes_ with her nose about an inch from the page. "They'd never have set a task that was undoable."

Theo looked up from his book to see her like this. Frowning, he set down the heavy tome, and pulled her away from the print with the strength of a true chaser as she strained (weakly) to get back to it. Hugging her to his side, he tucked his chin over the top of her head. Sighing in near defeat, the Gryffindor princess slumped back into her very own Slytherin prince.

I smiled gently at the pair. I really was happy for them. And I was glad that Hermione didn't seem to care about the stares that they always attracted. Theo didn't care either. In fact, neither one of them ever really seemed to notice.

"They have," said Ron, pointedly ignoring their little moment (but it could have been that he'd already built a physical wall of books between him and the couple. Because he had). "Harry, just go down to the lake tomorrow,right, sick your head in, yell at the merpeople to give back whatever they've nicked, and see if they chuck it out. Best you can do mate."

"There's a way of doing it!" Hermione said crossly. "There just has to be!" Pulling out of Theo's grip, she launched herself at another large book. The dark haired Slytherin shrugged but smiled at her.

I noted that the girl seemed to be taking the library's lack of useful information on the subject as a personal insult; it had never before failed her in such a fashion.

"I know what I should have done," said Harry, resting, facedown, on _Saucy Tricks for Tricky Sorts_. "I should've learned to become an Animagus like-" He went ridged and clammed up.

"Like Sirius?" Theo guessed.

The Gryffindors all shot me rather murderous, accusatory looks. I glared back at them. "What, am I only allowed to confide in Ron or Hermione? Theo is a very trustworthy wizard. Get the fuck over it, _now_."

"Hermione was the first to move on. "It takes years to become an Animagus, and then you have to register yourself and everything." she said vaguely, now squinting down at the index of _Weird Wizarding Dilemmas and Their Solutions_. "Professor McGonagall told us, remember... You've got to register yourself with the Improper Use of Magic Office... What animal you become, and your markings, so you cant abuse it..."

"And besides," I interjected. "There's no kind of guarantee that your form would be aquatic in nature. It's like a corporeal patronus, it reflects your true nature and personality. That's why my patronus is still a fox. All things considered, you might very well end up a stag..." I trailed off, a new depression weighing down on me.

"I was joking." said Harry wearily. "I know I haven't got a chance of turning into a frog by tomorrow morning..."

"Oh, this is no use!" Hermione said, snapping her book shut. "Who on earth wants to make their nose hair into ringlets?"

"I wouldn't mind," said Fred Weasley's voice. "Be a talking point, wouldn't it?"

The four of us looked up. Fred and George had just emerged from behind the bookshelves.

"What're you doing here?" Ron asked.

"Looking for you lot" George said. "McGonagall wants to see Hermione, you too Lyra."

"Why?" I asked, feeling surprised. I didn't remember doing anything wrong. Well, no, that was a lie. Draco had yanked me into a broom cupboard last week, but there was no way anyone could have seen that. And it also had nothing to do with Hermione, I would have found out by now if Theo had possessed the gall to pull anything similar with her.

"Dunno... She was looking a bit grim though," said Fred.

"We're supposed to take you down to her office." said George.

Sighing, I stood. "I'll see you back in the common room Theo. G'nite Harry." I said, trying not to feel distraught over the latter. "Good luck."

* * *

><p>"Oi, Theo have you seen Lyra this morning?" The blue-eyed wizard looked up, a worried look crossing his face.<p>

"No, I don't think she came back to the common room last night." Draco was about to say something, but he added, "She said she would though. Which is what worries me."

I shrugged. "You both need to chill out, she probably bunked with the Gryffindorks again. We'll see her down in the stands."

"Speaking of which," Draco said. "Did wonder boy figure out how he's getting through this?"

Theo shrugged. "Beats me, if he did, it wasn't until after I'd left for the night."

* * *

><p><em>The mermaid in the painting in the prefect's bathroom was laughing. I was bobbing like a cork in bubbly water next to her rock, while she held my firebolt over my head.<em>

_"Come and get it!" she giggle maliciously. "Come on, jump!"_

_"I cant." I panted, snatching at the broomstick, and struggling not to sink. "Give it to me!"_

_But then she hit me painfully in the side with the end of the broom, laughing at me._

_"That hurts - get off - ouch -"_

"Harry Potter must wake up, sir!"

_"Stop poking me -"_

"Dobby must pole Harry Potter, sir, he must wake up!"

My eyes snapped open, I was still in the library; my invisibility cloak I'd used to sneak in after-hours had slipped off my head as I'd slept, and the side of my face was stuck to the pages of _If There's a Wand, There's a Way._ I sat up, straightening my glasses, blinking in the daylight.

"Harry Potter needs to hurry!" squeaked Dobby. "The second task starts in ten minutes, and Harry Potter-"

"Ten minutes?" I croaked. "Ten - _ten minutes?_"

I looked down at my watch. Dobby was right. It was nine twenty. A large, dead weight seemed to fall through my chest into my stomach.

"Hurry, Harry Potter!" squeaked Dobby, plucking at my sleeve. "You're supposed to be down by the lake with the other champions sir!"

"It's too late, Dobby," I said hopelessly, thinking of all the books I'd poured over last night. "I'm not doing the task, I don't know how-"

"Harry Potter _will_ do the task!" squeaked the elf. "Dobby knew Harry had not found the right book, because Master Draco lost it last year, and did not bring it back! Dobby found it for Harry Potter!

"What?" I said. "But _you _don't know what the second task is-"

"Dobby knows, sir! Harry Potter is to go into the lake and find his sissy-"

"Find my what?"

"-and take his sissy back from the merpeople!"

"What do you mean my 'sissy'"

"Your sissy, sir, your sissy Miss Lyra - Miss Lyra who is making Dobby's master smile and giving Dobby hats!" Dobby patted his tasseled cobalt blue hat.

_"What?"_ I gasped, feeling my heart stop. "They've got...they've got my _sister?_"

"The thing Harry Potter will miss most, sir!" squeaked Dobby. _"But past an hour-"_

_"-the prospect's black,'"_ I recited, staring horror struck at the elf, trying to blink back frightened tears. "_'Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.'_ Dobby - what do I have to do?"

"You has to eat this, sir!" squeaked the elf, and he put his hand into his pocket and drew out what looked very much like a ball of slimy grayish-green rat tails. "Right before you go into the lake, sir - gillyweed!"

"What's it do?" I said, staring at it.

"It will make Harry Potter able to breath underwater, sir!"

"Dobby," I said frantically, "listen - are you sure about this?"

"Dobby is quite sure, sir!" said the elf earnestly. "Dobby hears thing, sir, he is a house-elf, he goes all over the castle as he lights the fires and mops the floors. Dobby heard Professor McGonagall and Professor Moody in the staffroom, talking about the next task... Dobby cannot let Harry Potter lose his sissy!"

Any doubts I had vanished. Jumping to my feet, I pulled off the invisibility cloak, stuffed it into my bag, grabbed the gillyweed, put it in my pocket, then tore out of the library with Dobby at my heels.

"Dobby is supposed to be in the kitchens, sir!" Dobby squealed as we burst into the corridor. "Dobby will be missed - good luck Harry Potter, sir, good luck!"

"See you later Dobby!" I shouted, and I sprinted along the corridor and down the stairs, three at a time.

* * *

><p>"Potter's still not here. And neither is Lyra. Where the bloody hell are they?" Draco said irritably, which was his way of showing that he was worried.<p>

"Hell if I know mate. I spotted Weasley earlier, but there was no sign of the twins." I said,watching him fidget.

"No sign of Hermione, either." The muttered on my other side. "I wonder if..." he trailed off, and I looked at him.

"What's that?"

He shook his head. "Lyra and Hermione both got called up to McGonagall's office last night, just before curfew. We didn't know why though."

I thought for a minute and then froze. Clearing my throat, I spoke. "What was that riddle again, mate?"

"Why?"

"Just - what was it?"

Frowning, he recited the verse:

_"Come seek us where our voices sound,_

_We cannot sing above the ground,_

_And while you're searching, ponder this:_

_We've taken what you'll sorely miss,_

_An hour long you'll have to look,_

_To recover what we took,_

_But past an hour - the prospect's black,_

_Too late, it's gone, it won't come back."_

"We've taken what you'll sorely miss." I repeated. Beside me, Draco stopped fidgeting. "Shit." I swore.

Theo's eyes got wide. "You don't think -" I nodded. His eyes got wider. "But then why Hermione? Wouldn't they only need one hostage?"

Draco ground his teeth together, drawing our attention. "Krum actually does like her. What I want to know is why couldn't they have just taken Potter's Firebolt or something? Lyra could get hurt-"

"Dumbledore wouldn't let that happen." I said quickly. Just then Ludo Bagman's voice boomed over the stands.

"Well, all our champions are ready for the second task, which will start on my whistle. They have precisely one hour to recover what has been stolen from them. On the count of three, then. One... Two... _Three_!"

The whistle echoed shrilly in the cold, still air; the stands around us erupted with cheers and applause, while we three Slytherins felt our stomachs drop. As much as we liked to think that Harry Potter was competent, if he screwed up in his true Gryffindor fashion... But like I'd said. Dumbledore surely wouldn't let anything _really_ bad happen.

The four champions waded into the water, and then they were gone.

After about ten minutes of nothing but staring at the lake's surface, Draco got antsy again. "At least with the dragons we were able to watch. This is just _boring_."

* * *

><p><em>I was in the house again. It was old and creaky and it still had that awful draft. Like every other time, I walked up the steps to the second floor. <em>

_At the end of the hall, I could see the slightly open door, the bright fire beyond it. I could hear the sputtering and whimpering voice of the man I hated only slightly less than the other, the one with the high-pitched and icy voice of the second man. The one who's laugh still haunted my dreams._

_As I moved closer, I could hear them talking about my brother and I, and the World Cup. It was the same every time. Every single time. I heard them speaking of Bertha Jorkins, the woman He'd killed, and of the follower who was yet to join them._

_I wondered, had he found this gruesome pair yet? Or was this simply a bad dream as I deeply hoped it was? Voldemort was dead. But he'd nearly come back before. Two years ago, and then once before in the year previous. If he ever did return to his full power, the wizarding world would have already turned to chaos._

_Every time that hissing voice spoke my family name, I could feel my heart shudder. _

_"One more murder...my faithful servant at Hogwarts...those brats are as good as mine, Wormtail. It is decided. There will be no more argument. Be quiet... I think I hear Nagini..."_

_And with that, the hissing began, the serpentine words slicking across the space like filthy oil, dredging up feelings of horror and disgust. Behind me, I could see something slithering towards me along the dark hallway floor. The gigantic snake, at least twelve feet long, which answered to Voldemort._

_This was the difference from the original dream. The first time, it had been as though I was watching a muggle horror film, seeing this happen to that poor old muggle man. But now, it was I who was being discovered, I who was being killed._

_"Nagini has interesting news, Wormtail," the hissing voice said._

_"In-indeed, My Lord?" said Wormtail._

_"Indeed yes," said Voldemort. "According to Nagini, one of the children is standing just outside the door, listening to everything we are saying."_

_As always, I had no time to hide. There was the sound of footsteps, and then-_

My head broke the surface.


	39. Skeeter, Karkaroff, and Snape

**So here you go, new chapter and all. Lots of love to those of you who stuck with me even after my awful and uncalled for hiatus.**

**Please review!**

* * *

><p>I wasn't having a nightmare, rather, I was in a new kind of hell. One where I was soaked to the bone, freezing cold, and being roughly dragged through the water by a boy who was equally drenched.<p>

My mind caught up a heartbeat later, as I recalled the night before when McGonagall had called Hermione and I to her office. _We_ were what was to be stolen. She'd told us, as we drank a potion that would place us in an enchanted sleep, that we would be tied to the bottom of the lake, for a champion to rescue.

Coughing on the bitter, icy water, I started treading so I wouldn't sink.

"You did it!" I coughed, grinning, and ignoring the numbness of my fingers and toes. Couldn't they have taken off my shoes? It would take forever to dry them out, even with a spell.

Then I spotted Fleur's sister.

"What did you bring her for?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.

"Fleur didn't show up, I couldn't just leave her." Harry panted.

"Harry, you prat!" I berated. "You didn't take that song seriously, did you? Dumbledore would never have let any of us drown!"

"The song said-"

"It was only to make sure you got back inside the time limit!" I said in exasperation. "I hope you didn't waist time down there acting the hero!"

Harry's frown spoke for itself. "C'mon." he said shortly. "Help me with her, I don't think she can swim very well."

Still annoyed, I helped him pull the little French girl through the water, back towards the bank where the judges stood watching, twenty merpeople accompanying us like a guard of honor, singing their horrible screechy songs.

I could see Madame Pomfrey fussing over Hermione, Krum, Cedric, and Cho, all of whom were wrapped in thick blankets. Dumbledore and Ludo Bagman stood beaming at us from the bank as we swam nearer, but Percy - whom I assumed was here in place of his precious boss Barty Crouch - looked paler and somehow much younger than usual. Meanwhile Madame Maxime was trying to restrain Fleur Delacour, who was quite hysterical, fighting tooth and nail to return to the water.

"Gabrielle! _Gabrielle! Is she alive? Is she 'urt?"_

"She's fine!" Harry tried to assure her, though he seemed to tired to speak, let alone shout.

Once we were on the shore, Dumbledore and Bagman busied themselves with pulling Harry upright; Fleur had broken free of her headmistress and was hugging her sister.

"It was ze grindylows...zey attacked me...oh Gabrielle, I thought...I thought..."

"Come here you." said Madam Pomfrey. She seized me and roughly pulled up and over to where Hermione and the others sat, and proceeded to wrap me so tightly in a blanket, it felt as though I was wearing a straightjacket, also forcing a measure of very hot potion down my throat. Steam gushed out my ears.

I shivered slightly, though the potion did heat me up rather well. Slightly apprehensive, I looked up at the stands for my most definitely irritated friends. Sure enough, I discovered the very accusatory glares of Draco, Blaise, and even Sara boring into me from the stands. Theo on the other hand, was too busy death glaring at Krum, who was trying to draw Hermione's attention off of my brother and onto himself; perhaps to remind her that he'd just rescued her from the lake, but she wasn't paying him any mind.

I chuckled. "Oy, Hermione." I said, drawing her attention far more easily. "You're going to have to explain a thing or two to poor Theo."

Her brown eyes got wide for a moment before she looked up into the stands, finding her boyfriend easily since he was next to Draco's head of white-blond hair. "Oh no, you don't think he thinks there's anything going on with me and-"

I snorted. "Theodore Nott is an insecure idiot. Of course he does. But he loves you, so I think you'll find him easy to sooth."

"He what?" she whipped around to look at me in shock.

I raised an eyebrow. "Even if I'm wrong about that, I'm probably almost right. Or had you not noticed the way he looks at you?" The brunette flushed but looked up at the stands again, this time with a smile on her face.

Looking back at the lake's edge, I saw Dumbledore crouched down, deep in conversation with what seemed to be the chief merperson, a particularly wild and ferocious-looking was making the same screechy noises that the merpeople made when they were above water; clearly, Dumbledore could speak Mermish. Finally, he straightened up, turned to his fellow judges, and said, "A conference before we give the marks, I think."

The Judges went into a huddle. Madame Pomfrey was bringing over Fleur and her sister. The older girl had many cuts on her face and arms, and her robes were torn, but she didn't seem to care, nor would she allow Madame Pomfrey to clean them.

"Look after Gabrielle," she told her, and then the part-veela turned to my brother. "You saved 'er," she said breathlessly, making me grit my teeth a bit. "Even though she was not your 'ostage."

"Yeah," Harry said awkwardly, clearly realizing his stupidity of playing hero.

Fleur bent down, kissed Harry twice on each cheek, making him blush, then turned to me. "And you too - you 'elped -"

"Not really, no." I said flatly, leaning away a bit. I didn't want that girl anywhere _near_ me.

Just then, Ludo Bagman's magically magnified voice boomed out beside us, making everyone jump, and causing the crowds in the stands to become quiet.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our decision. Merchieftainess Murcus has told us exactly what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award marks out of fifty for each of the champions, as follows...

"Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubble-Head Charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her twenty-five points."

Applause from the stands.

"I deserved zero," said Fleur throatily, shaking her golden head. It took every ounce of restraint I possessed, not to sneer at her about looks not being everything. Damn, I hated veela.

"Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble-Head Charm, was first to return with his hostage, though he returned one minute outside of the time limit of an hour." enormous cheers from the Huffelpuff in the crowd; I saw Cho give Cedric a glowing look, causing Harry's face to darken a bit. "W therefore award him forty-seven points.

"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which was never the less effective, and was second to return with his hostage. We award him forty points."

Karkaroff clapped particularly hard, looking very superior.

"Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect," Bagman continued, making me raise my eyebrows at him. So that's how he'd done it. Though I'd never heard of such a thing. "He returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Merchieftainess informs us that Mr. Potter was first to reach the hostages, and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all the hostages to safety, not merely his own."

Both Hermione and I gave Harry looks of half-exasperation, and half-sympathy.

"Most of the judges," and here, Bagman gave Karkaroff a very nasty look, "feel that this shows moral fiber and merits full marks. However... Mr. Potter's score is forty-five points."

My stomach leapt - Harry was now tied with Diggory! Laughing, I applauded, grinning at the fool. "There you go Harry! I shouted over the noise. "You weren't being thick, you were showing moral fibre!"

Fleur was clapping very hard too, but Krum didn't look happy at all. He attempted to engage Hermione in conversation again, but she was too busy cheering for Harry to listen.

"The third and final task will take place at dusk on the twenty-fourth of June," continued Bagman. "The champions will be notified of what is coming precisely one month beforehand. Thank you for all your support of the champions."

It was over, I thought with a mental sigh, as Madame Pomfrey began herding the champions and hostages back to the castle to get into dry cloths. Harry was in one peace, and I had nothing to tear my hair out over until June. This, I could handle.

* * *

><p>But of course the world loved to prove me wrong. This fact was made clear by a letter that we received.<p>

As we entered March, the weather became drier, but cruel winds skinned our hands and faces every time we went out onto the grounds. There were delays in the post because owls kept getting blown off course. The barn owl that Harry had sent to our godfather about the Hogsmeade weekend turned up at breakfast on Friday morning with it's feathers sticking up the wrong way; Harry had no sooner torn off Sirius's reply than it tried to take flight again, clearly afraid it was going to be sent outside again. I caught the poor bird however, pulling it closer to me and away from my brother.

As my brother opened the letter, I stroked the creature's feathers, trying to smooth them out a bit, giving him some toast for his troubles.

"Bloody idiot!" Harry hissed tensely, bringing my attention back to what was important.

"What?" I asked, leaning a bit closer. The owl affectionately nipped my finger before taking flight and leaving, though I was only vaguely aware of it.

The letter was almost as short as the last one, but it's message was far more stressful.

_Be at stile at end of road out of Hogsmeade (past Dervish and Banges) at two o'clock on Saturday afternoon. Bring as much food as you can._

If I'd been a fox at the moment, my hackles would have been up, and I'd have been growling.

"He hasn't come back to Hogsmeade?" said Ron incredulously.

"It looks like it, doesn't it?" said Hermione.

"I can't believe him," I said tensely. "if he's caught..."

"Made it so far, though, hasn't he?" said Ron. "And it's not as if this place is swarming with dementor anymore."

Harry folded up the letter, and I frowned at it as he did. If I was honest with myself, I really did want to see my godfather again. I therefore, approached the final lesson of the afternoon - double potions - feeling considerably more cheerful than I usually was when being required to deal with Snape.

But of course, the world needed to throw another grande at me for the simple sake of doing it.

Pansy Parkinson, Carley Dawson, Jason Laurent, and Daphne Greengrass were clustered around the entrance to the classroom, looking at something I couldn't see, and snickering heartily. Pansy's pug-like face peered maliciously around Jason's back as the four of us approached.

Draco, who'd been walking ahead of the Gryffindors and I, shoved past them angrily.

"There they are!" Carly giggled, and the knot of Slytherins broke apart. It was then that I saw the magazine that Parkinson was holding - _Witch Weekly_. The picture on the front was split in half. One side showed a curly-haired witch, who was smiling toothily and pointing at a large sponge cake with her wand. The other side was another witch, with darker, slightly less-curly hair, grinning like a Slytherin as she held her hands on her hips.

I felt my stomach plunge. This, wasn't good.

"You two might find something to interest you in there!" Pansy said loudly and she threw the magazine at Hermione, who caught it, looking startled. At that moment, the dungeon door swung farther open, and Professor Snape beckoned us all inside.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron all headed for the back of the classroom as usual, and after hesitating and glancing at an angry Draco, who happened to be sitting by an equally irritable Theo Nott, I followed, setting up beside Hermione. Once Snape had turned his back on us to write up the ingredients of today's potion on the blackboard, Hermione hesitantly rifled through the magazine under the desk. At last, in the center pages, Hermione found what we were looking for. The three of us leaned closer. A color photograph of Harry and I headed a piece entitled:

**_To love a Potter Twin -_**

**_A secret heartache and a scarlet woman._**

_Harry Potter, a boy like no other - yet a boy suffering all the usual pangs of adolescence, _writes Rita Skeeter. _Deprived of love since the tragic demise of their parents, and then the separation from his twin sister, fourteen-year-old Harry Potter though he had found solace in his steady girlfriend at Hogwarts, Muggle-born Hermione Granger. Little did he know that he would shortly suffer yet another emotional blow in a life already littered with personal loss._

_Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to be developing a taste for rich and famous wizards that Harry alone cannot satisfy. Since the arrival at Hogwarts of Viktor Krum, Bulgarian Seeker and hero of the last Quidditch World Cup, Miss Granger has been toying with both boys' affections. Krum, who is openly smitten with the devious Miss Granger, has already invited her to visit him in Bulgaria over the summer holidays, and insists that he has "never felt this way about any other girl"_

_As if this weren't bad enough, there has also been tell of her cavorting with a rich young Pureblood, Theodore Not Jr. Which leads us to the second half of the Potter family, _writes Rita Skeeter, special correspondent.

_It seems that while the brother was content to lead a quieter search in his quest to fill the hole in his heart, the sister seems to have become a tich more promiscuous, and as much of a scarlet woman as Miss Granger._

_Lyra Potter has enough fame on her own, what with her infamous family history, but it would seem that it's not enough for her. Using her status in the wizarding world, Miss Potter has been affiliating herself with more than one rich young Pureblood. Theodore Nott being one of them. However, when she's not sharing with Granger, she's been seen spending a great deal of time romancing one Blaise Zabini, and even his best friend, the Malfoy heir, Draco._

_Despite having only returned to the British wizarding community last year, Lyra Potter has shot up her social ladder, charming the socks off of many a young wizard. One would do well to be wary of the witch, lest they catch her bug._

_However, it might not be these two young women's doubtful natural appeal that have captured these unfortunate boys' interests._

_"They're both really ugly," says Pansy Parkinson, a pretty and vivacious fourth-year student. "but they'd also both be well up to making a Love Potion, Granger's quite brainy, even on her own, and Potter is of course in Slytherin. It wouldn't surprise me at all."_

_Love Potions are, of course, banned at Hogwarts, and no doubt that Albus Dumbledore will want to investigate these claims. In the meantime, young men would be wise to stay away from the pair; and Harry Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he bestows his heart onto a worthier candidate._

"I told you!" Ron hissed at Hermione as she stared down at the article. "I _told_ you not to annoy Rita Skeeter! She's made you and Lyra out to be some sort of - of -"

"Machiavellian whores?" I suggested. "And it's not entirely her fault, I'd expected this for a while after what I'd said to her at the weighing of the wands. There was no way she could have been satisfied with my little cameo appearance in her article on the first task. Though I am sorry, Hermione."

She frowned at the paper. "This is why Theo wouldn't talk to me this morning." she mumbled.

I rolled my eyes. "Theo knows he's not under a spell. He's just paranoid and jealous. You should take it as a compliment. Though you should stop him before his sulking becomes too unbearable."

"I'll catch him after class, but really if that's the best that Rita Skeeter can do, she's losing her touch." said Hermione, giggling a bit, as she threw _Witch Weekly_ into the waist basket beside the desk. "What a pile of old rubbish."

I looked over at my fellow Slytherins I loathed to think of having to share a dorm with them tonight. They were all watching to see if any of us had been upset by the article. I sneered at them before turning my face to the potion we were meant to be brewing.

"There's something funny, though." Hermione said after about ten minutes, holding her pestle suspended over a bowl of scarab beetles. "How could Rita Skeeter have known...?"

"Known what?" said Ron quickly. "You _haven't _been mixing up Love Potions, have you?"

"Don't be stupid" Hermione and I both snapped. The brunette began violently pounding her beetles again. "No, It's just... How did she know about Viktor asking me to visit him over the summer?"

She bushed scarlet and determinedly avoided the looks both Ron and I were giving her.

"What?" said Ron, dropping his pestle with a loud clunk.

"He asked me right after he'd pulled me out of the lake." Hermione muttered. "After he'd gotten rid of his shark's head. Madame Pomfrey gave us both blankets and he sort of pulled me away from the judges so that they wouldn't hear. He apologized for what he'd said at the ball, and said, if I wasn't doing anything over the summer, would I like to-"

"Does Theo know about this?" I asked, before Ron could start in.

She blushed again and looked down. "No. I didn't want to tell him because I knew he'd get jealous. He was already in a poor mood because I was Viktor's hostage."

"Because it's so much better that he found out like this." I responded dryly. "Hermione, Theo is the most insecure boy I've ever met. This has probably got him feeling like an idiot. It was bad enough when he thought you _might_ reject him, now he probably thinks you _have, _and that you've picked Krum over him."

"I know..." she said, looking shamefaced. "I'll talk to him after class, but-"

"Fascinating as your social life undoubtably is, Miss Granger," said an icy voice right behind us, all four of us jumped. "I must ask you not to discuss it in my class. Ten points from Gryffindor."

Snape had glided over to our desk while we were talking. The whole class was now looking around at us; Parkinson took the opportunity to flash _POTTER STINKS _across the dungeon at my brother.

"Well, I think I'd better separate the four of you, seeing as you can never seem to get anything done while socializing. Weasley, you stay here. Miss Granger, over there, beside Miss Parkinson. Potter, beside Mr Zabini. And you-" he said, looking at my brother. "That table in front of my desk. Move. Now."

Feeling irritated, I threw my ingredients and my bag into my cauldron, dragging it over to Blaise, and sat down. Snape followed my brother to the front of the class, and Hermione looked like she was going to be sick as she took her newly appointed spot between Pansy and Carly.

"Nice going." Blaise chuckled under his breath.

"Shut it." I growled, setting up my station for the second time.

"Whatever my suitor wishes, is my command." he said flippantly.

I stopped and glared daggers at him. "This article isn't funny. Draco's father already doesn't like me. Now the wizarding world will be under the impression that I'm some money-grubbing slag."

He rolled his eyes. "No one believes half of the tripe that Skeeter writes. And I wouldn't worry too much about old Lucius liking you, because it wouldn't make Draco feel any better."

"I wish that was true, but correct me if I'm wrong, but despite it being obvious slander, it's still enough to tarnish a reputation. And as wonderful as Narcissa is, she _does_ care about image." I stared hard at him, making him look away.

"Draco doesn't."

"That's bullshit, and you know it."

He frowned, his expression looking as if he'd smelled something foul. "He doesn't care about it where _you're_ concerned, I should say. He loves you too much to care."

I froze, staring at him. "He what?" I breathed, feeling my heart clench. He was wrong, even if I didn't want him to be. Before Blaise could backtrack, I snorted nervously. "You're nuts. Draco might like me a lot, but _love_ doesn't - it's not in the picture."

After that, I looked pointedly back at my potion, ignoring him altogether.

* * *

><p>I felt my irritation rise when there was a knock my classroom door. Most of the other teachers knew by now not to disturb my lessons. Breathing through my nose, I said, "Enter."<p>

It was annoying how my whole class felt the need to stop what they were doing to see who it was. Even more annoying was that Professor Karkaroff was the one who came in. As he walked toward my desk, he kept twirling his finger around his goatee and looking agitated. I was far from pleased with his interruption, I hadn't wanted to have this conversation. Ever, really.

"We need to talk," he said abruptly when he reached the front. He was hardly moving his lips in attempt to keep quiet.

"I'll talk to you after my lesson, Karkaroff." I muttered, though the man overrode me.

"I want to talk now, while you can't slip off, Severus. You've been avoiding me." He said looking concerned, and I felt my anger rising. Never mind that I _had_ been avoiding him. It was the same reason that I didn't really care to visit with Lucius. Though this was a more pressing matter.

"After the lesson," I snapped. I didn't need, or want to be reminded of the recently increased throb of my arm.

Karkaroff hovered behind my desk for the remainder of the double period. He was clearly not going to let this go. I restrained myself from rubbing my arm. When the bell finally rang, he waited until the class had mostly emptied before starting in again.

"What's so urgent?" I hissed.

_"This,"_ said Karkaroff, pulling up the sleeve of his robe, showing me his dark mark. Like mine, the color had grown more vibrant, and was writhing slightly.

"Well?" he said, still making every effort not to move his lips. "Do you see? It's never been this clear, never since-"

"Put it away!" I snarled, flashing it about was the worst thing he could do at a time like this. On impulse, I let my eyes sweep through the classroom, zeroing in on the only student left. I felt my blood run cold.

"But you must have noticed-" Karkaroff began in an agitated voice.

"We can talk later!" I spat. "Potter! What are you doing?"

The dark haired young witch was staring directly at Karkaroff, who's arm she could obviously see. She was standing ridged, not answering me, but the look in her eyes spoke volumes. In all the years that I'd known Lilly, and in the time that I'd taught her children, I'd never seen such a look enter those almond shaped green eyes.

A hate so pure that it could make even me uncomfortable. Rather than cool green, her eyes were a color very reminiscent of deadly poison.

Holding my ground and pretending not to notice, I barked at her, "Answer me!" This made her look up from Karkaroff's arm to look at me, the hate not dulling even a fraction.

"Cleaning." she spat, throwing a cloth soaked with salamander blood into her desk's wastebasket.

At the final realization that this was not the time to talk about this, Karkaroff spun on his heel and left the dungeon, seeming both worried and angry. When I looked back at my student, I found that she was still glaring at me.

"Get out." I snapped.

Her expression darkened further. "Fine." she spat, picking up her bag and swinging it over her shoulder. "Not like I want to be around someone like you anyway, Death Eater scum."

Before I could reprimand her, Lyra Potter had swept from the room, anger rolling off of her in waves.

I couldn't even blame her.


	40. Padfoot returns

I didn't say anything to Harry, or anyone, about what I'd seen after potions that day. Though I had a newfound hatred of Severus Snape. I was surprised that he hadn't given me detention for being so impudent, but I wasn't about to be grateful. Men and women like him were the reason that Harry and I were orphans. If I could get away with murder, I wouldn't hesitate.

With the reminder of our past hovering in my mind, the Hogsmeade weekend couldn't come soon enough.

Luckily, when it did, the weather was milder than it had been all year, by the time we got to the meeting point, I'd taken off my cloak and thrown it over my shoulder. The food that Sirius had told us to bring was in Harry's bag. From the Gryffindor table, they'd managed to sneak a dozen chicken legs, a loaf of bread, and a flask of pumpkin juice. From my house's table I'd managed to take three sandwiches, two apples, and four oranges.

Harry had insisted on going into Gladrags Wizardwear to buy a present for Dobby - he'd told us about how he'd been to one to give him the gillyweed - where we had a bit of fun selecting the most lurid socks we could find, including a pair patterned with flashing silver and gold stars, and another that screamed loudly when they became too smelly. Then. At half past one, we mad our way up the High Street, past Dervish and Banges, and out toward the edge of the village.

I'd never been out in this direction before. The winding lane was leading us out into the wild countryside around Hogsmeade. The cottages were fewer here, and their gardens larger; as we got closer to the base of the mountain in who's shadow the village lay, I morphed, feeling a bit nervous. Then, we turned a corner and saw a stile at the end of the lane. Waiting for us, it's front paws on the topmost bar, was a very large, shaggy black dog, which was carrying some newspapers in it's mouth and looking very familiar...

Giving a yip, I ran ahead to the end of the road, leaping through the lowest gap in the fence. The creature made a huffing sound that could only be called laughter as I wagged my tail at him.

"Hello, Sirius." said Harry when he and the others had caught up.

The black dog sniffed Harry's bag eagerly, wagged it's tail once, and then turned and began to trot away from us across the scrubby patch of ground that rose up to meet the rocky foot of the mountain.

Sirius led us to the very base of the mountain, where the ground was covered with boulders and rocks. For me, following him wasn't so bad, owing to my current possession of four paws and a smaller mass, but for Harry, Ron and Hermione, it was a bit more of a challenge. We followed him higher and higher, up onto the mountain itself. For nearly half an hour we climbed a steep, winding path, following Sirius's wagging tail, panting heavily, feeling the sun burn my fur.

Then, at last, Sirius slipped out of sight, and when we reached the place where he'd disappeared, we saw a narrow fissure in the rock. Squeezing into it, we found ourselves in a cool, dimly lit cave. Tethered at the end of it, one end of his rope around a large rock, was Buckbeak. His fierce orange eye flashed at the sight of us. Morphing, I bowed low along with the others, and after he regarded us imperiously for a moment, Buckbeak bent his scaly knees and allowed Hermione to rush forward and stroke his feathery neck. Harry and I, however, were looking at the black dog, which had just turned into our godfather.

Sirius was wearing the same ragged grey robes he had been when he'd escaped from Azkaban. His black hair was longer than it had been when he'd appeared in the fire, and it had become untidy and matted once more. He looked very thin.

"Chicken!" he said hoarsely after removing the old _Daily Prophet_ from his mouth and throwing them down onto the cave floor.

Harry pulled open his bag and handed over the bundle of food.

"Thanks," said Sirius, opening it, grabbing a drumstick, sitting down on the cave floor, and tearing off a large chunk with his teeth. "I've been living off rats mostly. Cant steal too much food from Hogsmeade; I'd draw attention to myself."

He grinned up at my brother and I, and while I smiled back widely, Harry's was slower to come.

"What are you doing here, Sirius?" he said.

"Fulfilling my duty as godfather," said Sirius, gnawing on the chicken bone in a very doglike way. "Don't worry, I've been pretending to be a lovable stray."

He was still grinning, but upon seeing the anxiety in Harry's face, and the worry that I could feel creeping into mine, he said more seriously, "I want to be on the spot. Your last letter... Well, let's just say things are getting fishier. I've been stealing the paper whenever someone throws one out, and by the looks of things, I'm not the only one who's getting worried."

He nodded at the yellowing _Daily Prophet_s on the cave floor, and Ron picked them up, unfolding them. Harry, However, continued to stare at Sirius.

"What if they catch you? What if you're seen?"

"You three and Dumbledore are the only ones around here who know I'm an Animagus." said Sirius, shrugging and continuing to devour the chicken.

I coughed and rubbed my neck, looking guiltily at the floor. "Actually..." The other four looked up. "Theo Nott and Blaise Zabini both know. I told them. And Draco already knew, said his father told him. Though I don't know how Lucius knew."

"Wormtail, probably. He would have told Voldemort's inner circle all about me, James, and Remus." Sirius said, a dark look on his face. "Though you shouldn't have told those other two."

I glared at the cave floor, sitting down. "Well I'm sorry that I'm not best friends with Ron and Hermione." I said irritably. "And I'm not an idiot. It's not as though I told them blithely. They won't breath a word. They're my friends for a reason."

"Nott Jr is the son of a Death Eater." Sirius said warningly.

I looked away. "He's also considered a blood traitor by most of Slytherin house for dating a muggleborn. His father is barely a step away from disowning him."

"And Malfoy?" Sirius asked calmly. "I remember specifically asking you to stay away from him."

I looked up to glare at him. "I'm a Slytherin, okay? And I'm not going to sit here and defend my feelings to you. _Especially_ when you wont give me reasons beyond the fact that his family are assholes. Same for my friendship with Theo, or are you going to berate Hermione for liking him?"

"I just want you to be careful."

"I'm not a baby, Sirius." I snapped. "Besides, shouldn't we be worrying about Harry here? After all he's the reason you're here." I regretted the words the second they were out, but I was the only one who seemed to catch the double meaning in the words. I caught Hermione frowning at me though.

From that point on, we discussed, or rather, _they _discussed the the tournament, and Sirius's suspicions about Crouch. Apparently the man's son had been an alleged Death Eater, which was part of why Crouch was so obsessed with catching Dark Wizards. There was also his mysterious illness.

It wasn't until around three thirty when Sirius suggested we start heading back.

"Now listen..." he looked hard at Harry as he said this. "I don't want you lot sneaking out of school to see me all right? Just send me notes. I still want to hear about anything odd. But you're not going to leave Hogwarts without permission -"

"Hypocrite." I joked, smirking at him.

He glanced at me, but ignored my comment, making my grin vanish. "- it would be an ideal opportunity for someone to attack you."

"No one's tried to attack me so far, except a dragon and a couple of grindylows," Harry said, but Sirius scowled at him.

"I don't care... I'll breath freely again when this tournament's over, and that's not until June. And don't forget, if you're talking about me among yourselves, call me Snuffles, okay?"

He handed Harry the empty napkin and the drained flask of pumpkin juice. He still had the fruit I'd brought, seeing as he hadn't really touched them.

As we started to file out of the cave, Sirius cleared his throat. "Lyra, a word?"

I frowned. "I thought you said we should head back?"

He shook his head. "You know as well as I do that you can make it down that mountain twice as fast on four feet. I'd like to talk to you."

Sighing, I shrugged, and went over to pet Buckbeak, waiting for him to start taking. Harry and the others hesitated, but at Sirius's motion, they left.

"If this is about Draco again, I'm just going to leave." I said. I heard him sigh tiredly behind me.

"It's not." I looked at him over my shoulder, casting him a skeptical look. "I want to know why you're angry with me."

I turned to face him completely, bewildered. "I'm not angry." I said.

"Upset, then." Sirius amended.

"I'm not." I mumbled, itching the corner of my eye so I didn't have to look at him.

"Your mother used to rub her eye when she was lying. You do the same thing." He commented. Instantly, I brought my hand away from my face. "What's this about Lyra?"

I refused to look at him, leaning back against Buckbeak. The hippogriff pawed the ground, and I absently rubbed his flank. "It's not important." I muttered finally. "Forget it."

"Of course it's important Lyra, you're my goddaughter, and I care about you." He said, giving me a small smile.

I couldn't stop my next words from flying out. "Doesn't seem like it." Like before, I instantly felt bad.

Now it was Sirius's turn to look bewildered. "What do you mean?"

Well, I'd already said the first bit. Next thing I knew, my mouth was spewing my insecurities out to him. "Well, I mean, I know that Harry's the main concern right now, since he's the one in the tournament and all. And I'm worried about him to, I mean, he's my brother, my twin. The last thing I want is for something to happen to him, so I understand that he's your focus right now. But, like you said, I'm your godchild too.

"And last year, I mean, you were happy to see both of us, and we were ecstatic to finally have a real family tie. I mean, the Dursleys don't really count. But this year, I mean, the only letters you've sent me - even over the summer - were basically just ones warning me off of my friends in Slytherin. You weren't even a little interested when I told you we were going to the world cup! I mean, I know that you would have heard about what happened after it was over, But I would have thought you'd be interested in the actual game turn out. You and Harry at least talk about things that happen with him. And then when you called us on floo that one time, when I was there and Harry wasn't, all you cared about was where he was. I mean, you barely even said hi to me. You only paid attention when I made that comment about Moody. And then earlier today I doubt if you would have paid me any mind at all if I hadn't told you that my friends knew about you. Even after I assured you that they wouldn't tell, you kept trying to convince me otherwise, acting like I'm some naive child. I don't really get along with Hermione all that well, and I don't think Ron likes me all too much, though he hasn't said anything. Sara and I haven't been talking so much now that she's got other friends. Harry's busy with the tournament, and you won't write to me, so those three are all I've really got to talk to. And all you can do is criticize me for it."

I stopped and took a deep breath, realizing that I'd been talking really fast. Blinking back the slight stinging in my eyes, I went on. "I just, I kinda feel like you don't like me as much as Harry. And I mean, I get it," my voice cracked, and I felt a few of my tears slip out of the corners of my eyes. "He's like Dad right? And Dad was your best mate. Harry looks like him, he gets into things like you and your friends used to, and he's a Gryffindor. You, Mum, Dad, Remus, Harry, you're all Gryffindors, and... I'm not. I'm the black sheep, right?" more tears dripped down my face, I couldn't look at him now, so instead, I stared at the floor. "I just wish you would... That you would at least _pretend_ that I'm not the odd man out, you know?"

"Lyra, I..." he seemed at a loss for what to say. I still wouldn't look at him.

"It doesn't matter." I sniffed, feeling ashamed that I was being so dramatic. "I'm sorry, I know I'm being silly." I said, wiping at my face. Next thing I knew, Sirius had enveloped me in a tight hug. Blinking, it took me a minute to realize what was happening. Sniffing, I hugged him back.

"No, Lyra. I'm the one who's sorry. I didn't realize, and I should have. I love you just as much as I love Harry." He said honestly. "I didn't mean to make you feel that way."

I grit my teeth and tried to pretend this made it ok. But then, I'd nearly killed him less than a year ago, so I supposed I should have been the one on thin ice here. Relaxing, I found myself openly crying into his chest, feeling much like a small child.

I wanted my dad. I hadn't thought that since I was nine. Hadn't _let _myself think it.

But this time Sirius was here. He wasn't my dad, but he was the closest thing I'd ever have again. And by the gods, he was _here_. If I lost him too...

This thought made me hug him tighter as the volume of my sobs increased.


	41. Chess, and the truth

By the time I'd stopped crying, it had been several minutes. But Sirius didn't let go until I'd stopped shaking. Once I had, I stepped back and wiped at my face before giving him a watery smile.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to spout all of that at you. It wasn't fair. And it was melodramatic."

He frowned sadly. "Harry told me that you had episodes like this last year." I was stunned, and so said nothing. "And your mother would often do the same thing. Though James and the rest of our friends quickly discovered that she was practically incapable of lying when she got like that."

I lowered my eyes to the floor, ashamed. He placed a hand on my shoulder, regaining my attention. "You shouldn't keep quiet about how you feel, you know. That's why you have outbursts like this. If something's ever wrong, then tell someone."

I frowned and averted my eyes again. "I'm not the only person in the world who has problems. Mine aren't any more important than the next person's in fact by comparison to some, my problems aren't even that bad."

Sirius sighed, seeming to realize he wouldn't get anywhere further with me today. "Come on. You need to get back."

Morphing, the pair of us left the cave, and with him leading the way, we bounded down the mountain

* * *

><p>"How'd everything go with Snuffles?" Theo asked quietly as we sat by the fire that night. Draco and Blaise looked up from their chess match to hear my response. All three of them had known that something was wrong, ever since we got back from Hogsmeade, but upon my statement about not wanting to talk about it at the time, the subject had been dropped. It seemed that that respite was over now.<p>

"Oh the usual," I mused, attempting to be nonchalant. "I freaked out again, unloading moronic insecurities onto an unsuspecting victim."

I yawned and laid my head back on the couch, pretending to relax, but I could still feel them all staring at me. I looked up only after Draco came and sat beside me. His face was full of concern. "Lyra it's really not good for you to keep everything pent up. It only makes you unhappy."

I felt my anger ignite at him. "What so I should be more open like you?" I snapped.

He frowned. "What'd you -"

"Oh you know exactly what I mean." I growled. "When have I _ever_ bothered you about hiding shit from me about your family? About Blaise and Theo's snide remarks anytime your father comes up in conversation?"

He looked like a deer caught in muggle headlights. "I don't know what you're talking about."

I sneered. "I'm not a moron. I know theres something dodgy going on with your Father. Or did you actually think I didn't notice when I never saw him _once_ over the summer? Or the way you acted at the Cup? Or the ball? But have I ever _once_ pushed you on it? No. So lay off would you?"

And with that I left, fuming. Who was he to tell me that I should open up more? Never had I minded that he kept his secrets. I knew that prying at a box as tightly shut as that only ever caused resentment. Granted my store of secrets always ended up bursting on its own, but not everyone was as compartmentalized as Draco Freaking Malfoy. Elaborating on that, what normal human being was _that_ detached from their emotions? When it suited him he could shut down everything. Compassion, kindness, weakness, anything that kept him from being cold or indifferent to what it was he was doing. That was the only thing I could say that I really hated about him. No matter what I'd never try and change him, but the fact that he could be like that made me furious.

Pansy and her friends were taking up the dorm when I got inside, so I decided then and there that that it would be nice to have a long relaxing shower. Ever since they had found out that I was dating Draco, and then later when they'd realized I was the one who'd orchestrated Hermione and Theodore's relationship, I had been enemy number one. I'd even had to start warding my curtains at night for fear that they might try something. What made it worse was that once or twice, I'd woken up to find that in the night, the wards had indeed been disturbed.

Grabbing my toiletries, I exited back through the common room, where I spotted Blaise laying into Draco about something or other. Exiting the common room, It was only a short walk down the hall to the Slytherin baths.

As with all of Slytherin's decor, I found myself appreciating the place. The dark green jasper tiles, the muted gaslights, the faint but ever present smell of bath salts. Even the very fluffy black towels managed to look regal.

Sighing, I removed my cloths, and stepped into one of the shower cubicles, pulling the silvery shower curtain closed behind me.

Another thing I loved about the bathroom, was that while the large bathtubs had various scented bubble bath mixtures, the showers had a variety of scented water. Dialing it to the soothing smell of eucalyptus and sage, I let the water beat down upon me.

Feeling exhausted, I let my back slide down the cold tile wall behind me, and sat on the floor, while still being doused by the shower head. I liked showers better than baths because for one thing, they didn't take as long, but also because they never failed to reminded me of rain. I loved walking in the rain. But here in the United Kingdom, the rain was always far to cold for me to really enjoy it.

As the steam and the eucalyptus relaxed me, I opened my eyes to stare at the four tiled couldn't things always be so simple as a shower? Relaxing, only because warm water is beating upon you, working out knots and kinks in your body as easily as a feather is blown by the wind.

* * *

><p>"I told you to tell her mate." Blaise said.<p>

Draco looked back at our friend from where he'd been staring after Lyra. "It's not that easy, and you know it."

The Italian wizard shook his head. "I never said that it was. Theo and I both know that it's hard for you. That you don't like talking about it. But we at least know what's going on. Lyra doesn't, and despite obviously not liking it, she doesn't bother you about it."

"If she's not bothering me, then why should I tell her?" He responded petulantly. I rolled my eyes. Boy was that an opening. And Blaise, being Blaise, took it.

"Because she loves you. And you obviously love her!" Draco blushed at such a candid statement of his feelings, but Blaise ignored it. "Because she deserves that respect! You've seen the way she worries after her brother, and Si-" stumbling slightly, Blaise covered up his mistake, glancing around at the common room. "And the way she worries for Snuffles. Do you honestly think she doesn't worry for you as well? And have you still not stopped to consider how hurt she will be when she _does_ finally find out? Hurt _and_ scared for you?"

"Blaise, that's my whole point. She has enough to worry about without this." Draco defended.

Blaise shook his head. "Do you think that that sentiment will keep her from feeling offended that you seemingly didn't trust her enough to tell her this? Beyond that, what if something happened? If Lucius goes to far one time, and she has to find out that way. Are you dumb enough to think that she won't blame herself for not realizing this herself?"

"But it's not her-"

"You know Lyra better than I do, and so we both know that that won't change anything. So don't hide behind it." The blond opened his mouth once before shutting it again, looking away, into the fire.

I sighed. "Mate, we know it's hard for you. _I _know. But you still need to tell her. And considering that stunt you pulled at the ball with your father, you'd best tell her before the summer holiday. Because one way or another, if you haven't ended things with her before then, she _will _find out. In the worst way."

He looked up at that, grey eyes wide. He clearly hadn't thought about that. Sighing defeatedly, he stood and started walking to our dorm, hands in his pockets. Blaise flopped irritably back into the couch across from me. Setting down my book, I reset the forgotten chess board, summoning my own pieces from the dorm. Blaise leaned forward to play.

"The love lives of our circle of friends isn't quite at its all time high this week now is it?" I chuckled. "Pawn to E4."

"Oh? Something up with you and Granger as well?" Blaise said, watching as my pawn slid forward. "Pawn to E6."

I shrugged. "I don't know, this whole thing with Krum.." I sighed. "Pawn to D3."

"Knight to C6. And you're not seriously _believing_ Skeeter's dumb article, are you?" Blaise said incredulously.

Once again I shrugged. "No, but look at the facts. Bishop to E2."

"What facts you ponce? Knight to F6."

"Well I mean, He's a famous quidditch player, and I'm just, well. I'm a shoddy chaser for the Slytherin team. Besides that he's older, handsome, doesn't have to deal with shots from the rest of his school. Pawn to C4."

"Knight to E4, Knight takes Pawn." Blaise rolled his eyes. "You are being deliberately obtuse. Granger's not that superficial. Even I can see that."

"Pawn to E4, Pawn takes Knight. I am not being obtuse." I protested.

"Pawn to D5. You're right, you're changing the subject instead."

"Sod off. Pawn to D5, Pawn takes Pawn."

"Pawn to D5, Pawn takes Pawn."

"Pawn to D5, Pawn takes Pawn."

"Queen to D5, Queen takes Pawn."

"Queen to D5, Queen takes Queen."

"Bishop to G4." Blaise sighed. "Mate. Granger's not going to leave you for some lunk head Bulgarian. The pair of you will work things out, and eventually get married and have brain children together, alright?"

"Don't be a moron. Bishop to G4, Bishop takes Bishop." I snorted.

"Shit. And I'm not. Bishop to B4, Check."

"Hermione and I are nowhere near marriage. And you only mentioned it to be an ass. Knight to C3."

"Bishop to C3, Bishop takes Knight, Check. And yeah, but it made you chuckled didn't it?"

"Once again, sod off. Pawn to C3, Pawn takes Bishop."

"King to G8, Castles with H8 Rook."

"Is it just me, or are you losing?" I said.

"It's just you, now move."

"Pawn to H4."

"Did Draco leave to go sulk in your dorm?" We looked up from the board to see Lyra, wet hair and all, looking at us."

"Pretty much." Blaise said as she sat down next to him. "Knight to D4. And now Theo is sulking out here."

"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow at me.

"Blaise, go to hell. Pawn to D4, Pawn takes Knight."

"What's this about, and Blaise, you know you're losing right?"

"No, I'm not. Pawn to C5. And Theo is being insecure about Krum and Granger."

"Hermione has no interest in Viktor Krum." Lyra said.

"Then what's this about him inviting her to Bulgaria? Queen to C5, Queen takes Pawn."

"Rook to C8. Stop reading Witch Weekly and you'd be fine."

"Shit. Queen to A5. And I don't read Witch Weekly. Parkinson is the one who told me."

"As if Parkinson lives to do anything but cause trouble for other people."

"Rook to C1, Rook takes Bishop, Check."

"Rook to C1, Rook takes Rook. And I know that. But There is a point in there."

"Not really."

"Rook to C8. You're arguing in circles mate."

"Rook to C8, Rook takes Rook, Check Mate."

"I told you you were losing."

"Shut up Lyra."

"Blaise sucks at chess."

"I do not."

"You kind of do." Lyra said before looking back at me. "I thought Hermione talked to you about all of this? She said she would."

I looked away. "I've kind of been avoiding her..." I grumbled.

The onyx haired witch groaned in frustration. "Theodore Knott, I've never met someone as insecure as you. If you hadn't avoided her, you'd know that the only reason she didn't tell you about Krum's invitation was because you were already upset about her being Krum's hostage. She didn't want you to feel threatened because there isn't anything to be jealous of to begin with, because there is _nothing going on_. They are _just_ friends, do us all a favor and stop being such a ninny."

"I am not!"

"Yes you are." Blaise deadpanned.

* * *

><p>A day or so passed, and it was calm, Draco and I kissed and made up, Hermione and Theo did the same. Harry asked me to help him with a Potions essay, everything was normal. Until one morning, hermione ran crying from the breakfast table. Theo shot off after her, and I excused myself from the Slytherin table to go ask Harry and Ron what they'd done now.<p>

When I got there, I crinkled my nose as I caught a wiff of something that smelled like petrol. I spotted the source almost instantly; and envelope covered with what I recognized as undiluted bubotuber pus. Around it was littered many other letters.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"See for yourself." Harry said irritably, passing me a letter.

Frowning, I read it aloud. "_'I read in _Witch Weekly_ about how you are playing Harry Potter false and that boy has had enough hardship and I will be sending you a curse by next post as soon as I can find a big enough envelope.'_ What's this nonsense?"

"All of them are like that." Ron said, gesturing to the other letters. Pointing to the one with the pus, he said, "She got that stuff on her hands and had to go to the hospital wing. That's why she ran out."

I frowned. "And here I was thinking that you'd done something."

"Hey!" the two of them exclaimed. I only shrugged in response.

Checking my watch, I saw that breakfast was nearly over. "I need to grab my Alchemy homework, I left it in my trunk. I'll see you two in Care of Magical Creatures, alright?"

* * *

><p>Alchemy was boring today, and I'd had to let Draco copy my homework just before class.<p>

"I don't get why you didn't do it yourself. It wasn't that hard, it only took me, what? Fifteen minutes. It's just the base elements." I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"I was doing that charms essay!" He defended. "I'm still three inches short by the way."

I rolled my eyes again. "Mine was done two days ago, slacker. And really. Two feet isn't even that long. Merlin's pants, it was practically busy work. 'The uses and advantages of minor healing charms'. I mean really."

"I had other homework."

"The exact same homework that I had, I'd like to add."

I could only chuckle as he glared at me. Ignoring me, he went about copying the last answer down, just before Professor Aldwin walked into the room, demanding attention. After that, he had us doing bookwork, researching the base element air. Really boring actually.

The fun began during our second class of the day. Hagrid had crates of some strange creature. They were fluffy black beasts with long snouts, their front feet oddly flat like spades. They blinked up at the class looking politely puzzled at all the attention.

"These're nifflers." said Hagrid, once everyone had gathered together. "Yeh find 'em down in mines mostly. They like sparkly stuff... There yeh go, look."

One of the nifflers had suddenly jumped up and tried to bite the watch off of Pansy's wrist. I had to hide my snort behind my hand as she shrieked and jumped backwards.

"Useful little treasure detectors," said Hagrid happily. "Thought we'd have some fun with 'em today. See over there?" He pointed at the large patch of freshly turned earth. "I've buried some gold coins. I've got a prize for whoever picks the niffler who digs up most. Jus' take off your valuables an' choose a niffler, an' get ready to set 'em loose."

I had to sit down on the grass so that I wouldn't fall over as I was taking off my mother's bell anklet, I smiled as I listened to the bells. They sounded every time I moved my leg, but I'd grown so used to the sound that I hardly stopped to notice it anymore. But when I did, it always made me smile, remembering her, and how happy she was.

"What's that?" Looking up, I saw Draco looking at the anklet.

I smiled, handing it to him as I stood back up. "It was my mother's."

"It jingles." he said, surprised.

Taking it back, I put it in my book bag. "I charmed it so that you cant hear it unless it's touching you."

"Which explains why I didn't know about it until now." he chuckled.

I walked over to the crate, just as Harry was picking one up. I giggled as it stuck it's nose in his ear and sniffed enthusiastically.

"They're cuddly things aren't they?" I asked, looking into the wooden box.

Harry chuckled. "Yeah."

After I had taken mine out of the box, I noticed the two left over. Looking up at my brother who was trying to keep a straight face as he held the niffler. "Hermione still in the Hospital wing?"

His face soured. "Yeah, she missed all of Herbology."

"Meaning that that's why Theo isn't here either." I said. "How much of that pus did she get on her anyway?"

"It was all over her hands. The letter may as well have projectile vomited on her. "

I scrunched my nose at the image, but made my way over to the patch of dirt. "Does Hagrid know?"

Harry nodded. "He asked me and Ron when she didn't show up with the rest of us Gryffindors."

I scowled. "He didn't bother to ask where Theo was I notice."

"Hagrid doesn't like Slytherins, you know that."

I ignored his comment as the lesson continued. Which wasn't hard, considering that it was easily the most fun that we'd had in Care of Magical Creatures. The nifflers dived in and out of the patch of earth as though it were water, each scurrying back to the student that hd released it and spitting gold into their hands. Ron's seemed to be particularly efficient; it had soon filled his lap with coins.

"Can you buy these as pets, Hagrid?" he asked excitedly as his niffler dived back into the soil, splattering his robes.

"Yer mum wouldn' be happy, Ron," said Hagrid, grinning. "They wreck houses, nifflers. I reckon they've nearly got the lot, now." he added, pacing around the patch of earth while the nifflers continued to dive. "I only buried a hundred coins. Oh there y'are, Hermione!"

_And Theo._ I thought irritably. As the pair of them walked toward the class from across the lawn. Hermione's hands were heavily bandaged and she looked miserable. Theo was walking beside her, carrying her books for her. Pansy Parkinson was watching them beadily.

"Well, let's check how yeh've done!" said Hagrid. "Count yer coins! An' there's no point in trying to steal any, Goyle." He added, his black eyes narrowed. "It's leprechaun gold. Vanishes after a few hours."

I glared as Goyle emptied his pockets, looking extremely sulky. The Goyles were an affluent family. He was nothing but a greedy moron who didn't need the money he'd taken.

It turned out that Ron's niffler was the most successful, so Hagrid gave him an enormous slab of Honeydukes chocolate as a prize. The bell then rang across the grounds for lunch; the rest of the class went off to lunch, but my brother and his friends stayed behind to help corral the nifflers, Theo kissed Hermione on the cheek before catching up with Draco and I.

"What'd Pomfrey say about her hands?" I asked.

He scowled. "They should be better by tomorrow, but if I _ever_ find out who sent that stupid 'letter'. The they are definitely gonna get it."

I rolled my eyes halfheartedly. "As if you could do anything."

"Says you." he snapped.

"What happened to Granger anyhow?" Draco asked.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Why? So you can make fun of her?"

He scowled and rolled his eyes. "No, and if I did, Theo over there would hex me. I'm actually just curious."

I was still skeptical, but Theodore irritably explained. "Some tosser sent her a letter filled with undiluted bubotuber pus. It got all over her hands when she opened it. Another person threatened to send her a curse next post. It's all because of Skeeter."

Draco's eyebrows shot up. "What because of that trashy piece she did on Granger and Lyra?"

I nodded. "I expect the only reason I'm not getting the same treatment is because of who I am. Poor Hermione doesn't have that kind of insurance."

"It shouldn't matter." Theo snapped. "Those people don't even know her, _or_ your brother. They don't have any right to say those things to her. And she didn't even do anything! Skeeter is a bitch is all."

I smiled. "So you're done thinking you need to be jealous are you?"

"Yes."

"Good." I said. "Now you can focus on figuring out how to tell her how you feel."

"What?" he asked, bemused.

I smirked evilly. "Be honest Theodore. You _looove_ her."

He sputtered for a minute before scoffing. "That's, I mean that's utterly ridiculous! I do not!"

I snorted. "Your cheeks say different." And they really did. He looked like a cherry tomato. But the black haired wizard decided not to continue the conversation, as he began walking much more quickly, and disappeared up the castle steps.

"Do you really think he's in love with Granger?" Draco said.

Turning my head, I saw that his face had become unreadable. "You've seen how they are around each other. You tell me."

When he didn't say anything for a minute, I thought that'd be the end of it. But he took a deep breath. "This won't end well for him."

I stopped walking and glared at him. "Are you threatening Hermione, or are you being serious?"

He looked me dead in the eye. "You think that _I_ don't like him being a blood traitor? Have you ever met Knott Sr? Do you have any idea what he'll do? Theo can't go home now. Even if he broke things off _tomorrow_, it's made it's way into the media that he's involved with Granger. The _entire_ pureblood community knows that he's tainted his families name. The best case scenario is that he get's disowned, and his father throws him out. And Knott Sr isn't that kind. You shouldn't have started this. You should have at least talked to Blaise first, if not me."

I stared at him. "What're you saying, that his father'll kill him?" Draco didn't answer me. I felt tears leak out of the corner of my eyes. "Why would he go along with me, _knowing_ that?"

He glared. "Because you enabled him to be happy. And while he's never been depressed, he's never been happy either."

I frowned. "Why hans't he at least said anything then?"

The blond looked away. "Because Blaise and I didn't need to be told. As for you and Granger, he didn't want you to worry."

* * *

><p>She took a deep breath before walking to sit on the castle steps. Feeling uncertain, I followed after her, sitting down beside her as she let her head fall into her hands.<p>

"Sirius _warned_ me about messing with people's lives. He said it was a bad idea. Merlin, I should have listened to him. _Why_ didn't I listen to him?" she said quietly.

"Because you're a halfblood."

She looked up. "But I grew up with pureblood foster parents. I grew up in the magical community. There was hardly any family that was truly 'pure'. And of the ones that were, maybe ten percent held faith with this awful racism."

"This isn't America." I said flatly. "Here it's the other way around. Maybe twenty percent don't hold faith with it. But that's all."

She rubbed at her eye, wiping away her tears. "Why didn't any of you tell me sooner?"

I cringed. That was my fault. And Blaise had been saying the same thing since the beginning. "Because I didn't want you to know."

She looked up, confusion written across her face. "Why?"

I took a deep breath before taking the plunge. "Because you're not a pureblood either, Lyra. By simply being friends with you I was setting myself up to fall. But now? Now that I'm with you, and I haven't rejected Theo, my father won't kill me, but he certainly wont let me get away with it."

Tears spilled over her eyes, and horror clouded her features. "What're you saying?"

I couldn't look at her, not now that she was crying. Not now that I knew I might as well. "My father isn't a good man, Lyra. He's an abusive bastard." I thought of all the times I'd watched him hit my mother, the times that I'd jumped in the middle to try and stop it.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I looked up to see that her green eyes were wide and frightened as tears streamed from their corners.

I looked away again. "There was nothing you could do. Nothing you _can_ do. I didn't want you to worry."

"Then why tell me at all?"

I forced myself to give her a small smile. "Because Blaise was right, you shouldn't keep secrets from the people you care about."

Leaning in towards me, she wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face against my shoulder. "I'm so sorry Dragon."


	42. Barty Crouch

**Sorry for the wait. I actually had this chapter half finished the sunday after I'd submitted the last one, but I got slammed by 2 4 page research papers, both due this week. But they are gone now. **

**I'm very proud to say however, that my english paper, was not only about the harry potter book series, but I managed to use Dumbledore for one of my quotes and citations ****"'There are all kinds of courage,' said Dumbledore, smiling. 'It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends...'" Such pride.**

* * *

><p>The start of the beginning of the summer term normally would have meant that the school would be buzzing about the final quidditch matches of the year. All the players would have been busy training hard so that they might win the Cup. And tension between houses would have been running high. But this season however, it was the third task of the Triwizard tournament that had everyone excited. And Harry still didn't have any idea what the task was, or what he'd have to do for it. Finally,in the last week of May, Professor McGonagall held him back in Transfiguration.<p>

I waited outside to see what it was that she'd wanted. When he walked out, his face was anxious. "Well?" I asked

"Bagman is going to tell us what the task is tonight." He said.

"Should I wait up in the common room with Ron and Hermione?"

He paused before looking at me directly. "Could you come with me actually?"

I looked at him in surprise. "Why? Is there something wrong?"

He looked away. "I don't know, I just have a bad feeling."

"And you're asking _me_ to go with you?" I asked, still a bit confused. "Why not Ron or Hermione?"

He looked back up, looking surprised as well. "You're my sister." he replied simply.

I felt myself start to grin. "Of course I'll go with you. Sorry, I was just a bit surprised. D'you want me to use the cloak? Or morph to follow you?"

He shrugged. "That's up to you."

So at half past eight that night, Harry and I left the Gryffindor common room, with me trailing along behind him under a disillusionment charm. The boys were worried about me being caught, but surprisingly, Draco had stood up and said that it was a family thing. Ever since he'd told me his secret, and Theo's, the pair of us had finally reached a point of equilibrium in our relationship. Suffice to say we hadn't argued once and we were much happier with everything in the open.

As Harry and I crossed the entrance hall, Cedric came up from the Huffelpuff common room. I made sure to put a bit of distance between myself and the two boys, considering that I didn't want to be caught. Technically it _was_ after curfew.

"What'd you reckon it's going to be?" he asked Harry as they went down the stairs together, out into the cloudy night. "Fleur keeps going on about underground tunnels; she reckons we've got to find treasure."

"That wouldn't be too bad," Harry said.

We walked down to the Quidditch stadium, turned through a gap in the stands, and walked out into the field.

"What've they done to it?" Cedric said indignantly, stopping dead.

Hopping up onto Harry's shoulder while the older boy was distracted, I saw that the field was no longer smooth and flat. It looked as though someone had been building long, low walls all over it that twisted and turned and crisscrossed in every direction. I shuddered to think of what Draco and the boys would say if they cold see it. Sara would probably go on a rant about it being sacrilege.

"They're hedges!" said Harry, bending down to examine the one closest to us.

"Hello there!" called a cheery voice.

Ludo Bagman was standing in the middle of the field with Krum and Fleur. Harry and Cedric made their way towards them, climbing over the hedges. As they got closer to the other three, I dropped from Harry's shoulders. It was dark, but it wasn't enough for me to believe that a disillusionment charm would keep me from being caught, besides, the hedges were low enough that I could jump over. As we got closer, I saw Fleur beam at Harry. I'd noticed that ever since he'd saved her sister from the lake, Fleur's attitude towards Harry had completely changed.

"Well, what do you think?" said Bagman happily as Harry and Cedric climbed over the last hedge. I settled for peeking over the top of it, so as to be less likely to get noticed. "Growing nicely, aren't they? Give them a month and Hagrid'll have them twenty feet high. Don't worry," he added, seeing the less-than-happy expression on Harry and Cedric's faces. "you'll have your Quidditch field back to normal once the task is over! Now, I imagine you can guess what we're making them here?"

There was a moment where no one spoke, then -

"Maze." Krum grunted.

_Well that was articulate_. I thought snidely. _As if Theo ever had any _real_ competition._

"That's right!" said Bagman. "A maze. The third task's really very straightforward. The Triwizard Cup will be placed in the center of the maze. The first champion to touch it will receive full marks."

"We seemply 'ave to get through the maze?" said Fleur.

"There will be obstacles," said Bagman happily, bouncing on the balls of his feet. I couldn't help but be irritated by this. He did realize he was a full-grown man in charge of an entire Ministry devision, right? "Hagrid is providing a number of creatures... Then there will be spells that must be broken... All that sort of thing, you know. Now, the champions who are leading in points will get a head start into the maze." Bagman grinned at the Hogwarts champions. "Then Mr. Krum will enter... then Miss Delacour. But you'll all be in with a fighting chance, depending on how well you get past the obstacles. Should be fun, eh?"

They all nodded politely, though I saw from the look on Harry's face that he was thinking the same thing I was: If Hagrid was providing the creatures, then this maze would be anything _but_ fun.

"Very well... If you haven't got any questions, we'll go back up to the castle, shall we, it's a bit chilly..."

As I bounded after them, I noted that Bagman hurried along side Harry as they began to wend their way out of the growing maze. Again I felt irritated by the feeling that he was about to begin offering unfair advice to Harry again. Of course I _did_ want my brother to win, but it still wasn't right. However, Krum tapped Harry on the shoulder before Bagman was able to say anything.

"Could I haff a vord?"

"Yea, all right." said Harry, as surprised as I was.

"Vill you valk with me?"

"Okay," said Harry curiously. I had to stop myself from growling at him. I didn't like _or_ trust Viktor Krum.

Bagman looked slightly perturbed. "I'll wait for you Harry, shall I?"

"No it's okay, Mr. Bagman," said Harry, trying not to smile. "I think I can find my way back to the castle on my own, thanks."

Harry and Krum then left together, myself still trailing behind them. However, once leaving the stadium Krum did no set a course towards the Durmstrang ship. Instead he walked toward the forest.

"What're we going this way for?" said Harry as they passed Hagrid's cabin and the illuminated Beauxbatons carriage.

"Don't vont to be overheard." said Krum shortly. I tried not to snarl. If he so much as reached for his wand, then I'd hex him so fast that his head would spin.

When they had at last reached a quiet stretch of ground a short way from the Beauxbatons horses' paddock, Krum stopped in the shade of the tree and turned around to look at Harry

"I vont to know," he said, glowering. "vot there is between you and Hermy-own-ninny."

I found myself briefly frozen in surprise. Harry looked surprised too. "Nothing," he said. But Krum glowered at him, towering over my brother. "We're friends. She's not my girlfriend and she never has been. It's just that Skeeter woman making things up."

"Hermy-own-ninny talks about you very often." said Krum, looking suspiciously at Harry.

"Yeah," said my brother. "because we're _friends_."

"And that Theodore boy?"

I morphed and removed my spell before Harry mucked that up. "If you want to know about that, they you'd best speak to me." I said, narrowing my eyes at him.

Krum gave a start when he saw me. "Haff you been here-"

"Not important. You were saying?" I said, glaring a bit.

"You're his friend?" Krum said after a pause, getting back to what he was saying before. I nodded. "Vot is between him and Hermy-own-ninny?"

"He's in love with her." I said. "And they've been an item ever since your little stunt at the Yule Ball."

"Vot stunt?" he asked, suddenly offended.

"You-" but something moved behind Krum in the trees, and Harry and I, who had some experience with the sorts of things that lurked in the forest, both dove for our wands while Harry also grabbed Krum's arm and pulled him around.

"Vot is it?"

I shook my head, staring at the place where I'd seen movement. Suddenly, a man staggered out from behind a tall oak. For a moment, I didn't recognize him... then I realized that it was the absentee judge, Mr. Crouch.

He looked as though he'd been traveling for days. The knees of his robes were ripped and bloody, his face was scratched; he was unshaven and gray with exhaustion.. His neat hair and mustache were both in need of a wash and a trim. His strange appearance, however, was nothing to the way he was behaving. Muttering and gesticulating, appeared to be talking to someone that he alone could see. He reminded me vividly of an old tramp that I'd seen once as a child when I was out with my foster family. That man too, had been conversing with thin air; my foster mom had seized my hand and pulled me across the road to avoid him.

"Vosn't he a judge?" said Krum, staring at Mr. Crouch. "Isn't he vith your Ministry?"

Harry nodded, hesitated for a moment, then slowly stepped forwards towards Mr. Crouch, who didn't seem to notice the three of us as he was continuing to talk to a nearby tree.

"... and when you've done that Wetherby, send an owl to Dumbledore confirming the number of Durmstrang students who will be attending the tournament, Karkaroff has just said that there will be twelve..."

"Mr. Crouch?" Harry said cautiously. I tightened the grip on my wand.

"...and then send another owl to Madame Maxime, because she might want to up the number of students she's bringing, now that Karkaroff's made it 'round a dozen... do that, Wetherby, will you? Will you? Will..."

Mr Crouch's eyes were bulging. He stood staring at the tree, muttering soundlessly at it. Then he staggered sideways and fell to his knees.

"Mr. Crouch?" my brother said loudly. "Are you alright?"

Crouch's eyes were rolling in his head. I glanced at Krum, who was looking down at the Ministry official in alarm.

"Vot is wrong with him?"

"No idea," I muttered. "Listen, you'd better go and get someone -"

"Dumbledore!" gasped Crouch. Reaching out, he seized a handful of my brother's robes, dragging him closer, though he was looking at something over all our heads. "I need... see... Dumbledore..."

"Okay," I said, stepping closer, raising my wand ever so slightly. "If you let go of Harry, and if you get up, Mr. Crouch, we can go up to the-"

"I've done... stupid... thing..." the man rasped. He looked utterly deranged. His eyes were rolling and bulging, and a trickle of drool was sliding down his chin. Every word that he spoke seemed to cost him a terrible effort. "Must... tell... Dumbledore..."

"Get up, Mr. Crouch." said Harry loudly and clearly. "Get up, we'll take you to Dumbledore!"

Crouch's eyes rolled forward and landed on my brother and I. "Who...you?" he whispered.

"We're student's at the school." I said as Harry looked around at Krum for help, but the superstar Quidditch player was hanging back and looking extremely nervous.

"You're not... _his?_" whispered Crouch, his mouth sagging.

"No," I said, without the faintest idea what Crouch was talking about.

"Dumbledore's?"

"That's right," Harry responded.

"Warn... Dumbledore..."

"We'll go and Dumbledore if you let go of me," said Harry. "Just let go, Mr, crouch, and I'll get him myself..."

"Thank you Wetherby, and when you have done that, I would like a cup of tea. My wife and son will be arriving shortly, we are attending a concert tonight with Mr. And Mrs. Fudge."

Crouch was now talking fluently to a tree again, and seemed to be completely unaware that the three of us were there, which surprised me so much that it took me a moment to notice that the batty man had released my brother.

"Yes, my son recently gained twelve O.W.L.s, most satisfactory, ye, thank you, yes, very proud indeed. Now, if you could bring me that memo from the Andorran Minister of Magic, I think that I will have time to draft a response..."

"Harry we'll stay here with him," I said. "You go and get Dumbledore, you know where his office is better than I do, so you'll be quicker."

"But he is mad." said Krum, looking doubtfully at the man, who was still grabbing the tree apparently convinced that it was Percy Weasley.

"That doesn't matter." I said. "He's still a Ministry official who's been missing -"

"Don't...leave...me!" Crouch whimpered, latching onto Harry's robes again, his eyes bulging once more as well. "I... escaped... must warn... must tell... see Dumbledore... my fault... all my fault... Bertha... dead... all my fault... my son... my fault... tell Dumbledore... Harry Potter... the Dark Lord... stronger... Lyra Potter..."

My blood ran cold at the words that the man was spouting, and I lurched forward to try and pry his hands from Harry. If this had to do with Voldemort, we needed to get to a teacher _now_.

"We'll go get Dumbledore if you let him go, Mr. Crouch!" Harry said, as I tried to pry at the man's iron grip on my brother's robes. Realizing that Harry and I were getting nowhere I looked up furiously at Krum. "A little help here?"

Looking supremely uncomfortable, the Bulgarian moved forward and pulled Harry free.

"Just keep him here." Harry told us. "I'll be back with Dumbledore."

"Hurry, von't you?" Krum called after him as Harry sprinted off into the night.

After a moment, Crouch started to talk to the tree again. I frowned, and looked uncomfortably between him and Krum. When the quidditch player caught me looking at him, I narrowed my eyes at him before looking away.

"Vot did you mean by my stunt at the ball?" he asked after a moment. I grit my teeth, and wondered if it was his low IQ that made him like a dog with a juicy bone.

"Honestly, it wasn't entirely your fault." I allowed, hating myself. "One of her friends said some pretty mean things to her because she had said she wouldn't go with him before. As a result, she thought you were only interested because you wanted to use her to figure out the egg clue or some such nonsense. As for her and Theodore. Krum, he really does love her, and I think she loves him too. You'd best let it go, and settle for friendship."

He said nothing for a moment, looking pensive, and a bit disappointed. Then he said something unexpected. "I'm glad she is happy, though I vuld haff preferred it vos vith me."

Ok, so maybe not such a lunk head after all. Another moment of silence went by before I spoke this time. "I saw you at the cup, you're an excellent flyer."

His eyebrows went up a bit, and his dark eyes lit up a bit at the mention of his sport. "You like Quidditch?"

I shrugged and leaned up against the tree. "I'm not overly fond of it, but pretty much all of my friends play it. My friends back in America actually won the inter school championship cup last year."

"The Witch Trials?" he asked, looking surprised.

I smiled widely. "You've heard of them?"

He nodded. "There vos an article about them last year in the international sports column of the _Bulgarian Bulletin._"

"I didn't know that. I wouldn't have imagined that they would have made it into such a distant news stream."

He nodded. "I remember that the chaser vos being considered by the talent scouts."

The last thing I remember after that was thinking that I was going to say that that was my friend Max. He was a fifth year this year, and already the American Quidditch Team was sending him letters.

And I say it's the last thing I remember because after that, I saw Krum collapse, a flash of orange, and then nothing.

* * *

><p>"And when they woke you up, Crouch was just gone?" Theo asked... Again.<p>

I nodded patiently and tried not to roll my eyes. "That's what I said. Krum is convinced that it was Mr. Crouch who stunned us too."

"And you don't agree?" Draco asked incredulously.

I shook my head. "I may not have been paying him much mind, but I think one of us would have noticed if he'd pulled out his wand to attack. Besides that, the man was in no condition to weave so much as a levitation spell, much less a dueling stunner spell. I'm telling you someone else was out there."

"Okay, new theory." said Theo, raising an eyebrow at me. "Krum stunned you, then himself."

"And Crouch did what? Evaporate?" I snapped. "Don't be thick. And yes we know you hate Krum."

It was daybreak, and The four of us had left our dormitories in order to send a letter to Sirius, as I'd told Harry that I would. Now we were standing, looking out at the misty grounds. The Durmstrang ship looked near ghostly at this hour of the day. All four of us were puffy-eyed and pale (paler in Draco's case) because we'd stayed up late into the night talking about what'd happened.

"Just go through it again, Lyra." Blaise said. "What did Crouch actually say?"

"I've told you, he wasn't making a whole lot of sense. When he wasn't convinced that that stupid tree was Percy Weasley, he was almost totally incoherent. He was saying to warn Dumbledore about something. But he definitely mentioned Bertha Jorkins - that with missing from Bagman's department at the Ministry - he seemed to think she was dead. The man seemed to think it was his fault... and he mentioned his son too."

"I remember my father saying something about Crouch's when he got promoted to head of his Department at the Ministry a few years ago." Draco input. "I don't remember what it was though."

"I do." Theo said, his face darkening. "Don't you remember, Drake? Barty Crouch Jr is one of the Death Eaters responsible for what happened to Longbottom's parents."

My eyebrows shot up. I'd never heard Neville mention his parents before, and no one really ever asked about them either. As a result I couldn't stop myself from spouting my next question. "What happened to them?"

The three boys looked uncomfortably between each other. Blaise was the one who told me. "They were tortured into insanity by a group of Death Eaters. Both of them were Aurors and in some kind of secret society against Voldemort. The people convicted were Crouch's son, the Lestrange brothers, and-" He cut off and looked away, though I caught the glance he threw at Draco. I felt a pit form in my gut.

"It wasn't your dad was it?" I said lowly.

Draco shook his head, but looked no less ashamed. "My crazy aunt. Bellatrix. She was their ring leader, as my father put it. She was also apparently the Dark Lord's right hand witch."

I took a deep breath before saying anything. "We can't pick our family."

Theo snorted. "No kidding."

"But poor Neville though..." I said quietly. "Gods, that must be awful."

"He's a tough kid." Blaise said, surprising me. "They'd probably be proud of him."

I would have hugged him, had Draco not punched him in the arm. "Quit acting like a sodding Huffelpuff would you?"

Before the conversation could continue, we were interrupted by the voices coming up the stairs to the Owlery. A set of familiar, yet arguing voices.

"- that's blackmail, that is, we could get into a lot of trouble for that -"

"- we've tried being polite; it's time to play dirty, like him. He wouldn't want the Ministry of Magic knowing what he did -"

"I'm telling you, if you put that in writing, it's blackmail!"

"Yeah you won't be complaining if we get a nice fat payoff, will you?"

The Owlery door banged open. Fred and George came over the threshold, then froze at the sight of four Slytherins in front of them.

"What're you doing here?" Fred and I asked in unison.

"Sending a letter," sneered George and Blaise at the same time.

"What, at this time?" said Fred and I skeptically.

I snorted. "We wont ask if you don't."

Fred narrowed his eyes at us. "Yeah right. Whatever you and your little snake friends are up to it can't be good."

"I resent that." Draco muttered.

"No you don't, you revel in it." I corrected before looking back at the twins. "As for you two, _we_ aren't the ones who were talking about blackmail."

I looked pointedly at the sealed envelope in Fred's hands, who accidentally on purpose, shifted his hand so that the name was covered up. "Don't be dumb. I was only joking Lyra, and do you honestly think we are capable of blackmail?"

"George? Not so much. You, Fred? Yes I do."

"Oh?" he said, suddenly a bit angry, narrowing his eyes at me.

"George isn't vindictive." I said simply. "And he's right you know, you could get into very serious trouble for blackmailing someone. Especially if the Ministry is already involved."

"I said I was joking."

I started to argue, but Theo stepped in. "Lyra it's too early for this. Weasleys, don't do anything stupid." With that he began dragging Draco and I towards the door. Blaise followed behind silently.


	43. Letters and Dreams

Sirius sent our owl back the very next morning. It fluttered down in front of me at the Gryffindor table at the same time that a tawny owl landed in front of Hermione, clutching a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ in its beak. She took the newspaper, scanning the first few pages, said "Ha! She hasn't got wind of Crouch!" then joined Harry, Ron, and I in reading what Sirius had to say on the mysterious events the night before last.

_ Harry and Lyra - what do you think you two are playing at, walking off into the forest with Viktor Krum? I want you both to swear, by return owl, that you are not going to go walking off with anyone else at night. There is somebody highly dangerous at Hogwarts. It is clear to me that they wanted to stop Crouch from seeing Dumbledore and you two were probably only feet away from them out there in the dark. We're lucky they only stunned you Lyra and didn't kill you instead. In fact we're lucky they didn't kill you both._

_ Harry, your name didn't get dropped into Goblet of Fire by accident. If someone's trying to attack you, they're on their last chance. Stay close to your friends, do not leave your dormitories after hours, and arm Harry for the third task. Practice Stunning and Disarming. A few hexes wouldn't go amiss either. There's nothing you can do about Crouch. Keep your heads down and look after each other. I'll be waiting for your letter giving me your words that you won't stray out-of-bounds again._

_ Sirius_

_ P.S. Lyra, tap the parchment twice with your wand, and it'll turn into a letter meant for you. I'd like a word, if you please._

"Who's he to lecture us about being out-of-bounds?" Harry said indignantly as he handed the letter over to me. "After all the stuff he and his friends got up to when they were at school!"

"He's worried about you!" said Hermione sharply. "Just like we all are!"

"No one's tried to attack me all year," my brother responded. "No one's done anything at all -"

"Except put your name in the Goblet and stun me in the forest." I said. "They had to have done these things for a reason, Harry. Snuffles is right. Maybe they have just been biding their time. The third task could be what they're shooting for."

"Look," Harry said impatiently. "let's say Sirius is right, and someone stunned you and Krum to kidnap Crouch. Well they _would've_ only been a few feet away, wouldn't they? But they waited until I was out of the way before they acted, and all they did was stun you. So it doesn't look like we're their targets, now does it?"

"It wouldn't have looked like much of an accident if they'd murdered us in the forest now would it?" I shot back, feeling my face go a bit red. "Besides that, even if we're not the targets, when has that ever been a problem for you and your friends before? Like second year with the Basilisk? You were trying to figure it all out even before Hermione got petrified. Now a Ministry Official has gone mad and missing on the school's grounds and you don't even want to bother with being _cautious_? Have you gone mad?"

"If they want us dead why would they care about it looking like an accident?" He countered.

I shook my head. "Do I look like some evil mastermind to you? I don't get it either, but it makes the most sense. All we really know is that something odd has been going on, and I don't like it...and besides that Sirius is right, we need to focus on making sure you don't get yourself killed in the third task instead of sneaking off at night. I for one, am going to write back with that promise."

Just then, the bell rang for classes to begin, and the conversation was cut short. For the rest of the day, I had classes with teachers who seemed determined to pound new information into us despite the lacking attentiveness of their students. Owing largely to this, I didn't get to read the rest of Sirius's letter until that night, when I was hold up in my bed with the curtains and wards drawn.

_"Lumos"_ I whispered before tapping the parchment with my wand. The words rearranged themselves into a new letter even as I watched. I figured that it was a transfiguration spell of some sort, and I reminded myself to ask him to teach it to me.

_Lyra,_

_ What on earth were you thinking? Letting Harry go off with Krum? That was foolish, though I am glad you tried to be there. I was... unsettled to say the least when I read that you'd been stunned. Though I'm grateful that you're alright._

_ The reason that I chose to send you a separate letter however, was not simply to say that. I wanted to apologize again for what I'd said about your friends in Slytherin. I've thought more about it, and while I'm not particularly happy about your affiliation with them, I understand that I was in the wrong. You were right in saying that I don't know them. Children are not their parents._

_ I don't like the Malfoys, but I do appreciate the fact that... Draco, is important to you, and after writing to Harry about the boy, I understand that he does care for you. Even if he is a prat, Harry seems to think he makes you happy. All I'll ask of you as a result, is that you're careful around his family._

_ As for your questions about Nott Sr, and Lucius; I'm sorry to say that I doubt that Draco is wrong. Nott Sr had a violent reputation as a Death Eater, rumor was that he killed his wife, instead of the printed story of her illness. I honestly hadn't thought about it before, but what Malfoy said about him is true. Theodore's life could very well be in danger._

_ That being said, I don't know how to help him. His father would never just let him go if he ran away, so apart from that I've truly no ideas._

_ Malfoy on the other hand is a different matter._

_ Of my cousins, the only one I could never stand was Bellatrix. Andromeda and Narcissa on the other hand were always kindhearted. They were sweet and gentle girls, always happy always laughing together. But after her arranged marriage to Lucius, Cissa changed. She became far more strict, started caring more about her appearance than anything else, started caring about blood status despite never caring before. But most of all she became frightened and jumpy._

_ Though I never saw her anymore, I knew something was wrong, so did Andromeda. Before she was branded a blood traitor for marrying her muggle husband, Andromeda wrote me saying that she'd seen bruises on Cissa._

_ Lucius abusing her would explain the change. And knowing that, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that he probably hits his son as well. I don't think beating him to death would be out of the range of Lucius's capabilities either._

_ I'm sorry Lyra, really I am._

_ -Sirius_

I wanted to cry. Really I did. My boys were in danger, and I was the one who'd put them there. And Draco... Gods, Draco. If I lost him I don't know what I'd do, especially knowing that it was my fault.

I didn't get any sleep that night, and by the time I finally did force my eyes shut, my wand started buzzing on the dresser to alert me that it was time to get up again.

* * *

><p>The Hogwarts grounds never looked more inviting than on the days that I had to stay indoors. For the next few days, I spent all my free time in the library with my brother and his friends to look up hexes, or else in empty classrooms which we snuck into to practice.<p>

Currently, we were working on stunning spells, which none of us had used before. The trouble of it was that practicing it involved certain sacrifices on Ron and Hermione's part. (Hermione was insisting that I learn it too, since I'd already been attacked in the forest.)

"Can't we kidnap Mrs. Norris?" Ron suggested on Monday's lunchtime as he lay flat on his back in our Charms classroom, having just been stunned by harry and reawoken by me for the fifth time in a row.

"Lets Stun her for a bit. Or you could use Dobby, I bet he'd do anything to help the pair of you. I'm not complaining or anything-" he go gingerly to his feet, rubbing his backside. "but I'm aching all over..."

"Well, you keep missing the cushions, don't you!" said Hermione impatiently, rearranging the pile of cushions that we had used to learn the Banishing Spell, which Flitwick had left in a cabinet. "Just try to fall backward!"

"Once you're Stunned, you can't aim too well, Hermione!" Ron said angrily. "Why don't you take a turn?"

"Well I think they've got it now, anyway." the female Gryffindor said hastily. "And we don't need to worry about Disarming, because we've all known how to do that for ages..."

"I think we ought to start on some of the hexes this evening." I interjected, glancing at the list of spells that we'd made in the library.

The brunette nodded in agreement. "I like the look of this one," she said, picking up the piece of parchment to get a better look. "this Impediment Curse. Should slow down anything that's trying to attack you. We can start with that one."

The bell rang. We hastily shoved the cushions back into Flitwick's cupboard and slipped out of the classroom.

"See you at dinner!" said Hermione as she set off in a different direction from the boys.

"Gryffindors have electives this period?" I asked.

They nodded reluctantly. "We've got Trelawney's class next." Ron explained.

I tried not to laugh at them. "I've got History of Magic."

"Lucky." Harry grumbled.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Well, I'll see you at dinner." I said before turning down the next corridor.

The only real highlight of HoM, is that Slytherin and Ravenclaw are thrown together this period. I was one of the last into the room, but my usual seat between Sara and Draco was still open.

"We missed you at lunch," Draco said as I pulled my notes out of my bag."

I shrugged at him. "You knew where I was. Besides, as wonderful as you are, Harry still needs all the help he can get for this next task."

The blond grunted, and busied himself trying to unstopper his inkwell.

"So is that where you've been for the past week?" Sara asked curiously.

I nodded and lowered my voice. "I forgot you didn't know, the next task is a maze with a bunch of magical obstacles. We don't know what exactly what Harry'll have to face, so we're trying to cover all the bases."

"Do you want my help? I know they've got you for someone to think outside the box, but two is better than one." she said.

I shrugged, grinning at her. "We could use all the help we can get. We're working on hexes after dinner tonight, you're welcome to join us."

Sara was about to respond when Professor Binns floated out of the wall behind me, making me jump, and Sara shriek.

For the rest of the period we would be going over the goblin wars of the fourteen hundreds, effectively putting more than half of the class to sleep, myself included. (Although in my defense, I hadn't slept properly in over a week.)

_ I was morphed and racing against Zephyr, who was soaring though the clear blue sky above us. Up ahead was an old, ivy-covered house set high on a hillside. Lower and lower Zephyr flew, until he was only a quarter foot above me, pulling ahead only slightly. Determined not to be outdone, I sped up, enjoying the wind whipping at my russet fur until Zephyr flew through the broken window of the first floor of the house._

_ Not willing to give up the chase simply for a creepy old house, I lept high to make it through the window too, darting after the hawk as it soared up the stairs and down a gloomy passageway... I could feel something was very wrong... Entering the last door on the landing, I found that Zephyr had settled into a chair with his back to me, where he turned into an eagle owl...there were two dark shapes on the floor beside the chair...both of them were stirring..._

_ One was a huge snake... The other was a man...a short, balding man, a man with watery eyes and a pointed nose... He was wheezing and sobbing on the hearth rug..._

_ "You are in luck, Wormtail," said a cold, high-pitched voice from the depths of the chair in which the owl/Zephyr had landed. "You are very fortunate indeed. Your blunder has not ruined everything. He is dead."_

_ "My Lord!" gasped the man on the floor. "My Lord, I am... I am so pleased...and so sorry..."_

_ "Nagini," said the cold voice, "you are out of luck. I will not be feeding Wormtail to you after all... But never mind, never mind... There is still those troublesome twins..."_

_ The snake hissed. I could see it's tongue fluttering._

_ "Now Wormtail," said the cold voice, "perhaps I should remind you once more why I will not tolerate another blunder from you..."_

_ "My Lord...no...I beg you..."_

_ The tip of a wand emerged from around the back of the chair. It was pointing at Wormtail._

"Crucio!"_ said the cold voice._

_ Wormtail screamed, screamed as though every nerve in his body were on fire, the screaming filled my ears as the scar on my shoulder seared with pain; I was yelling too... Voldemort would hear me, he would know I was there..._

"Lyra! LYRA1"

My eyes snapped open. I was laying on the floor of Professor Binns's classroom with my hands clamped over the juncture of my neck and left shoulder. My scar was still burning so badly that my eyes were watering. The pain had been real. The whole class was standing around me, Draco, Sara, Theo, and Blaise were all kneeling by me, all looking terrified. Sara looked ready to cry.

"You all right?" Theo said.

"Of course she isn't!" Draco snapped viciously. Looking back at me, his fierce anger melted from it face to be replaced by tender concern. "What was it? What happened?"

"Nothing." I lied, sitting up and trying to subtly rub at my shoulder, which was still burning. I could feel myself shaking, and I couldn't stop myself from looking around, into the shadows behind me; Voldemort's voice had sounded so close...

"You were clutching your scar!" Sara said, whimpering. "Rolling on the floor and clutching at your scar! That wasn't _nothing_!"

I ignored her and looked at the ghost of our history Professor, who was floating just above the heads of his students.

"I need to go to the Hospital Wing, I think," I said shaking. "I think I must have hit my head when I fell out of my chair, I've got a bad headache..."

The ghost nodded, looking very oddly at me. I stood up and the rest of the class backed away. Everyone looked unnerved.

"See you later," I muttered to my friends, then picked up my bag and headed for the door.

Once I was out, I took off in a direction very opposite the Hospital wing. Sirius had told Harry and I what to do the next time one of our scars hurt, and I was going to follow his advice: I was going straight to Dumbledore's office. As I marched down the corridors, I thought about what I'd seen in the dream... It had been as vivid as the dream that had woken me in Godric's Hollow... I ran over the details in my mind, trying to make sure I could remember them... I'd heard Voldemort accusing Wormtail of making a blunder... But the owl had brought good news about the mistake being repaired. Someone was dead... So Wormtail wasn't going to be fed to the snake... Harry and I were instead...

I was actually glad now, that I'd been taken to Dumbledore's office for questioning after Krum and I had been attacked. I now new that the entrance was right behind a stone gargoyle on the first floor. The statue would spring to life when you said the password, leaping aside.

"Cockroach Clusters." I said tiredly.

Hurrying though the gap in the wall, I stepped onto the foot of the spiraling stone staircase, which started moving upward slowly, lifting me towards a polished oak door with a brass door knocker.

I knocked twice, then opened the door. "Headmaster?" I said.

But I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw who the older wizard was talking to.

Harry looked at me in surprise, and my shoulders slumped.

"Oh this can't be good."


	44. The thunderhead

**Hello my pretties. I know it's been far too long. But, my wonderful distraction of a boyfriend is out of town at the moment, and I wont have internet for the foreseeable future, as my dad hasn't paid the bill. As such, I have decided to write, and write, and write. And so, I will be delivering to you several new chapters, hopefully finishing up the fourth book and diving headlong into the fifth one.**

**So, without further ado, I give you these new chapters. Read, and be happy!**

**I'm no longer totally deprived of internet, as my grandma has allowed me the use of her internet to give you the next three updates.**

* * *

><p>The pair of them were standing beside an open cabinet. Walking over, I glimpsed inside it and saw an expensive looking stone bowel with silvery memories glowing inside of it. I raised my eyebrows at them. "A Pensieve?"<p>

Professor Dumbledore nodded. "Your brother found it when I stepped out for a moment."

"Harry!" I admonished, but the elder wizard waved me off.

"I hadn't shut the door properly, so it naturally attracted his attention. And curiosity is not a sin." he said as he walked behind his desk. Sitting down, he looked at us over his half-moon spectacles. And gestured to the chairs in front of the desk "Now, you must both be here for a reason."

I was suddenly reminded of why I'd been so apprehensive before. Looking at Harry, I swallowed past the lump in my throat.

"I was in History of Magic just now and, well... I sort of, fell asleep." I began, then paused, expecting a reprimand.

Dumbledore merely nodded, his eyes twinkling slightly with amusement. "Quite understandable. Continue."

"I had a dream," I said, glancing to the side at Harry, who looked grim. "It was about Voldemort. He was torturing Wormtail... You know who Wormtail-"

"I do know," said Dumbledore promptly. "Please continue."

"Voldemort got a letter from an owl." Harry said, picking up from where I left off, making my stomach turn on itself. "He said something like how Wormtail's blunder had been repaired. Someone was dead, and now he wouldn't feed Wormtail to the snake - there was a snake sitting beside his chair. He said-"

Harry faltered, so I said the ugly part, since Dumbledore needed to know. "He said that he'd feed us to it instead. Harry and I. Then he tortured Wormtail one last time, and my scar hurt. It woke me up it hurt so badly. I'm guessing it did Harry as well."

My brother nodded in affirmation, which did nothing for my queasy stomach.

"I see." said Dumbledore quietly. "I see. Now have your scars hurt at any other time this year, excepting the time it woke you both up over the summer?"

"No, we - how did you know about what happened over the summer?" Harry asked, astonished.

"You two are not Sirius's only correspondents," said Dumbledore. "I have also been in contact with him ever since he left Hogwarts last year. It was I who suggested the mountainside cave as the safest place for him to stay."

Dumbledore got up and paced back and forth behind his desk. Every now and then, he placed his wand tip to his temple, removed another shining silver thought and added it to the Pensieve. The thoughts inside began to swirl so fast that I couldn't see any of it clearly: It was merely a blur of colors.

"Professor?" Harry said quietly, after a couple of minutes.

Dumbledore stopped pacing and looked at my brother and I.

"My apologies." he said quietly. He sat back down at his desk.

"D'you - d'you know why the scars keep hurting us?" I asked uneasily.

Dumbledore looked very intently at me for a moment, and then said, "I have a theory, no more than that... It is my belief that your scars hurt both when Lord Voldemort is near you, and when he is feeling a particularly strong surge of hatred."

"But...why?"

"Because you and he are connected by the curse that failed." said Dumbledore. "They are no ordinary scars."

"S-so you think...that dream... It didn't really happen did it?" I sputtered.

"It is possible," said Dumbledore. "I would say - probable. Did either of you see Voldemort?"

"No sir." we both responded at the same time.

Harry cleared his throat. "Just the back of his chair. But- there wouldn't have been anything to see, would there? I mean, he hasn't got a body, has he? But... But then how could he have held a wand?"

"How indeed?" muttered Dumbledore. "How indeed..."

None of us spoke for a while. Dumbledore was gazing across the room, and, every now and then, placing his wand tip to his temple and adding another shining silver thought to the seething mass within the Pensieve.

"Professor," I said at last, as the ball of anxiety inside my chest constricted. "do you think he's getting stronger?"

"Voldemort?" said Dumbledore, as Harry looked at me with a stricken expression, as though he hadn't even considered that. Dumbledore's eyes held the look I'd often seen him give Harry. The piercing gaze seemed to see right through me in a way that even Moody's magical eye could not. "Once again, Lyra, I can only give you and Harry my suspicions."

Dumbledore sighed again, and he looked older, and wearier than I'd ever seen him.

"The years of Voldemort's ascent to power," he said. "were marked with disappearances. Bertha Jorkins has vanished without a trace in the place Voldemort was certainly known to be last. Mr Crouch too has disappeared...within these very grounds, and there was a third disappearance, one which the Ministry, I regret to say, do not consider of any importance, for it concerns a Muggle. His name was Frank Bryce, he lived in the village where Voldemort's father grew up, and has not been seen since last August. You see, I read the Muggle newspapers, unlike most of my Ministry friends."

Dumbledore looked very seriously at my brother and I.

"These disappearances seem to me to be linked. The Ministry disagrees - as you may have heard, Harry, while waiting outside my office."

Harry nodded. Silence fell between us again, Dumbledore extracting thoughts every now and again. I felt as though we should go, but Harry spoke, and so I remained in my seat.

"Professor?"

"Yes, Harry?" said Dumbledore.

"Er...could I ask you about...that court thing I was in...in the Pensieve?" I frowned, so Harry had actually seen one of the old wizard's memories?

"You could," said Dumbledore heavily. "I attended it many times, but some trials come back to me more clearly than others...particularly now..."

"You know - you know the trial you found me in? The one with Crouch's son? Well... Were they taking about Neville's parents?"

Dumbledore gave us both a very sharp look. "Has Neville never told you why he has been brought up by his grandmother?"

Harry shook his head, but while I had never asked him, I knew the reason. I thought of the meek Gryffindor now, how he always tried so hard, even when he failed, how he acted brave even though he was nearly always scared. I thought about how just looking at him, you'd never guess where his parents were. He was a good guy, in the back of my mind I suddenly regretted not being better friends with him.

"Yes, they were talking about Neville's parents." said Dumbledore sadly. "His father, Frank, was an Auror just like Professor Moody. He and his wife were tortured for information about Voldemort's whereabouts after he lost his powers, as you heard."

"So they're dead?" said Harry quietly, I looked at the floor. I didn't want to hear this again, I felt tears sting my eyes.

"No," said Dumbledore, his voice full of bitterness that made me flinch. "They are insane. They are both in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I believe Neville visits them, with his grandmother, during the holidays. They do not recognize him.

"The Longbottoms were very popular," Dumbledore continued. "The attacks on them came after Voldemort's fall from power, just when everyone thought they were safe. Those attacks caused a wave of fury such as I have never known. The Ministry was under great pressure to catch those who had done it. Unfortunately, the Longbottoms' evidence was - given their condition - none too reliable."

"Then Mr. Crouch's son might not have been involved?" said Harry slowly.

Dumbledore shook his head. "As to that, I've no idea."

I felt my stomach churn uncomfortably again, and I struggled to keep myself together. A friend's parents insane, and one of the culprits might not have even been one of the ones that were prosecuted. The very fact that there were people in the world who could _do_ that to another human being, _any_ being, made me feel both ill and horribly angry.

"You let these people into the castle, _teach_ here even?" I found myself spitting at our headmaster, my hands fisted in the robes over my knees.

Harry looked at me in surprise, and Dumbledore looked at me calmly. "Professor Snape had informed me that this might come up at one point. Yes, he has the dark mark, but he was in fact a spy for us against Voldemort."

I scoffed. "Somehow I don't buy that. But Karkaroff doesn't have that excuse I'll bet."

"Headmaster Karkaroff has served his debt to society." Dumbledore said.

I rolled my eyes, and slumped back into my seat. I hated people. Why were they all so cruel to one another?

"I'll ask you not to speak about Neville's parents to anyone else. He has the right to let people know when he is ready." Dumbledore said.

"Of course Professor." Harry said.

I knew that this conversation was over, so I stood, Harry following suit.

"Good luck with the third task Harry." Dumbledore said as we left.

* * *

><p>"The old coot said <em>what?<em>" Draco hissed.

Everything Harry and I'd talked about in the headmaster's office, I had now shared with Draco, Theo, and Blaise - and, of course, with Sirius, to whom my brother and I had sent an owl to the moment we had left Dumbledore's office. My three friends and I sat up late in the common room once again that night, talking it all over until our heads were spinning with information and thoughts and fears.

Theo stared off into the common room fire. I thought I saw him shiver slightly, even though it was a surprisingly warm evening in the Slytherin dungeons.

"You heard me." I said tiredly, not bothering to reprimand Draco's disrespect for Dumbledore. Old coot indeed.

Blaise shook his head slowly, looking somber. "If he's getting stronger, then he might come back. And if he can torture someone without a body, think what he could do if he did have one."

"We already know what he can do, Blaise." I said. "I'm more worried about what he _will_ do if he gets it back."

Theo snorted, the first sound he'd made since I'd mentioned Voldemort getting stronger. "First thing he'll do is get his old followers back together. I'd bet money on it." I was surprised at the anger in his voice. But I was worried by the fear that underlined it.

Draco suddenly looked very worried. "If he does then it'll be very bad for us in particular. I mean, the wizarding world as a whole will be screwed if he does come back, but Theo and I are as good as dead."

I shot him a sharp look. "Don't talk like that."

Theo looked at me. "It's the truth Lyra. I'm publicly dating a muggleborn, which makes me a blood traitor. I was dead, even before this new shit came to light. And Draco is dating _you_, one of the kids who is responsible for Voldemort's downfall. No way his father will ignore it now, and that's if Voldemort doesn't catch wind of it first."

"I'm sorry" I murmured, lowering my head in shame.

"Lyra don't worry about it." Draco said quietly. "Besides, when you consider the big picture here, that isn't the problem."

I sighed, tangling my hands into my hair. "I know. But I'm scared to think about it. I don't know how we're going to do it this time. Bloody hell, I don't know how we did it the_ last_ time."

"Did what?" Blaise asked carefully.

I looked up at him helplessly. "How Harry and I beat him. I remember everything up until the curse, but after that its all blank. I've no idea what caused Voldemort to lose his powers."

"Lyra, that's not your job!" Draco said franticly. "You sound like a Gryffindor! You and your brother are only fourteen, what can you do? Leave it up to the Ministry."

I shook my head. "Weren't you listening before? The Ministry refuses to acknowledge the signs."

"Lyra, you're tired and you're stressed out over a million things that aren't even your problem." Theo said, looking at me very seriously. "Fighting Voldemort is not your job, and for now, he isn't even back. Bloody hell, we don't even know if he'll come back at all. You should get some sleep."

Draco and Blaise both nodded in agreement. I didn't have the energy to argue with them, so I allowed myself to be ushered off towards my dorm.


	45. The flash of lightning

**I like cooking my pets and my family.**

**Use commas, don't be a psychopath.**

* * *

><p>I was supposed to be studying for exams, which would all finish on the day of the third task, but I was putting most of my efforts into helping Harry prepare. Ron and Hermione were doing the same, despite protests from Harry that he could practice on his own.<p>

The mood in the castle as we entered June became excited and tense again. Everyone except me and my friends were looking forward to the third task, which would take place a week before the end of term.

At every spare moment, I was practicing hexes and curses with Harry at every available moment. He confided in me that he felt far more comfortable about this task than he had the others, pointing out that even though it'd be dangerous and undoubtably difficult, he had made his way past monstrous creatures and magical barriers in the past with hardly any notice.

One day when we were in the Transfiguration classroom, (McGonagall, tired of walking in on us all over the school, had given us permission to use her room during lunch) I had chuckled at a thought. "You don't suppose you'll run into Fluffy again, do you?"

"Don't _say_ things like that." Harry pleaded, shuddering at the idea. "They might come true."

We were all mastering spells left and right. The Impediment curse, which could slow down or stop objects; the Reductor curse, which could blast away solid objects; and the Four-Point spell, a useful discovery of Sara's that would point your wand north, so you could check what direction you were going in. Harry and I were both still having trouble with the Shield charm though.

Hermione had shot Harry with a Jelly-Legs jinx at one point and shattered his. He'd been wobbling around the room for ten minutes before we found the counter-jinx.

"You're still doing really well, though." Hermione said encouragingly, looking down her list and crossing off the spells we'd already learned. "Some of these are bound to come in handy."

"Come look at this." said Theo, who was here today helping us practice. The boy was a genius with charms. Ron had conveniently decided that he needed to study today once he'd learned that Hermione's Slytherin boyfriend would be present. He was currently standing by the window, staring down at the grounds. "What's Parkinson doing?"

The rest of us went to see. Pansy, Carly, and Daphne were standing in the shadow of a tree below. Carly and Daphne seemed to be keeping a lookout; both were smirking and giggling to each other. Pansy was holding her hand up to her mouth and speaking into it.

"She looks like she's using a walkie-talkie," said Harry curiously.

"He can't be," said Hermione. "I told you, those sorts of things don't work around Hogwarts. Come on, Harry," she added briskly, turning away from the window and moving back to the middle of the room, "lets try that Shield charm again."

* * *

><p>Sirius was sending daily owls now. Like the rest of us, he seemed to want to concentrate on getting Harry through the last task before we concerned ourselves with anything else. He kept reminding Harry and I in every letter that the things going on outside the walls of the castle were not our responsibility, nor was it within our power to influence it.<p>

_If Voldemort is really getting stronger again, _ he wrote_, my priority is to ensure your safety. He cannot hope to lay hands on the pair of you while you are under Dumbledore's protection, but all the same, take no risks: Concentrate on getting Harry through that maze safely, and then we can turn our attention to other matters._

All of our nerves mounted as June the twenty-fourth drew closer, but for me they didn't seem quite so bad as before the previous tasks. For one thing, this time we had been in familiar territory, with ample warning of what was to come. This time Harry was definitely ready. For another thing, this was the final hurdle, and no matter how Harry did, the tournament would be over, which would untangle some of the anxiety that had taken up what seemed to be permanent residence in my gut.

On the morning of the third task, I chose to sit with Harry after sharing a brief kiss with Draco. As usual breakfast at the gryffindor table was a noisy affair, though it seemed to be even more so with the excitement for what was to come later today. The post owls appeared, bringing Harry a good-luck card from Sirius. It was only a piece of parchment, folded over and bearing a muddy paw print on it's front, but it was appreciated all the same. A screech owl arrived for Hermione, carrying her morning copy of the _Daily Prophet_ as usual. She unfolded the paper, glanced at the front page, and spat out a mouthful of pumpkin juice all over it.

"What?" Harry, Ron, and I said together, staring at her.

"Nothing." said Hermione quickly, trying to shove the paper out of sight, but Ron grabbed it.

He stared at the headline and said, "No way. Not today. That old _cow._"

"What?" I asked. "Rita Skeeter again?"

"No." said Ron, and just like Hermione, he attempted to push the paper out of sight.

"It's about one of us, isn't it?" said Harry.

"No," said Ron, in an entirely unconvincing tone. But before either of us could demand to see the paper, Pansy Parkinson shouted across the Great Hall from my house's table.

"Hey, Potter! _Potter!_ How's your head? You feeling alright? Sure you're not going to go berserk on us?" Pansy was holding a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ too. Slytherins up and down the table were sniggering, twisting in their seats to see our reactions. Draco, Blaise, and Theo looked furious.

"Hand it over." I said to Ron. "Now."

Very reluctantly, Ron gave me the newspaper. I turned it over and found myself staring at a picture of Harry and I, beneath the banner headline:

**Potter Twins**

**"****Disturbed and Dangerous"**

_The children who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named are unstable and possibly dangerous, _writes Rita Skeeter, Special Correspondent._ Alarming evidence has recently come to light about not only Lyra Potter, but Harry Potter's strange behavior, which casts doubts upon the latter's suitability to compete in a demanding competition like the Triwizard Tournament, or even for the pair to so much as attend Hogwarts School_

_The Potters, the _Daily Prophet_ can exclusively reveal, regularly collapse at school, and are often heard to complain of pain in the lightning scars they both poses. (Relics of the curse with which You-Know-Who attempted to kill him, after successfully doing away with their parents) On Monday last, midway through a Divination lesson, your _Daily Prophet_ reporter witnessed Harry Potter storming from the class, claiming that his scar hurt too badly to continue studying. Other witnesses spoke of his sister leaving a History lesson in a similar fashion._

_It is possible, say top experts at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, that the Potters' brains may have been affected by the attack inflicted upon them by You-Know-Who's dark curse, and that their insistence that the scar is still hurting is an expression of their deep-seated confusion._

_"__They might even be pretending," said one specialist. "This could be a plea for attention."_

_The _Daily Prophet_, however, has unearthed worrying facts about the Potter siblings that Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, has carefully concealed from the wizarding public._

_"_[Harry]_ Potter can speak Parseltongue." reveals Pansy Parkinson, a Hogwarts fourth year. "There were a lot of attacks on students a few years ago, and most people thought it was Potter after they saw him lose his temper at a dueling club and set a snake on another boy. It was all hushed up, though. But he and his sister have both made friends with werewolves and giants too."_

_Parseltongue, the ability to converse with snakes, has long been considered to be a Dark Art. Indeed, the most famous Parselmouth of our time is none other than You-Know-Who himself. A member of the Dark Arts Defense League, who wished to remain unnamed, stated that he would regard anyone who could speak Parseltongue "as worthy of investigation. Personally, I would be highly suspicious of anybody who could converse with snakes, as serpents are often used in the worst kinds of Dark Magic, and are historically associated with evildoers." Similarly, "anyone who seeks out the company of such vicious creatures as werewolves and giants would appear to have a fondness for violence."_

_As though to reinforce the latter opinion, Lyra Potter herself has, in the past, been openly violent towards other students at Hogwarts School._

_"__One night, after dinner, our whole common room saw her pin Pansy to a wall by her neck and scream at her. Ask anyone in Slytherin, they'll tell you the same." said Carly Dawson, an attractive fourth-year transfer student. And also, "She threatened to throw me off the back of the Hogwarts Express last year after I said something she didn't like." reported Jason Laurent, another fourth-year transfer student. Reports say that she also keeps in with the same dubious crowd as her brother, werewolves and the like. Such a girl is not only an open problem, but a darker worry for the parents of her fellow students._

_Albus Dumbledore should surely consider wether children such as this should be allowed to attend his school, or if Harry Potter should be allowed to compere in the Triwizard Tournament. Some fear that he might resort to the Dark Arts in his desperation to win the tournament, the third task of which takes place tonight._

"Gone off me a bit, hasn't she?" said Harry lightly, as he'd been reading over my shoulder.

"Yeah, Just a bit." I snorted as I folded up the newspaper.

Over at the Slytherin table, Pansy, Carly, and Daphne were laughing at us, tapping their heads with their fingers, pulling grotesquely mad faces, and waggling their tongues like snakes.

"How did she know about your scar hurting in divination?" Ron said. "There was no way she was there, there's no way she could've heard-"

"The window was open." said Harry. "I opened it to breath."

I frowned. "But isn't the divination classroom at the top of the North Tower?"

Hermione nodded. "It is. So even with the window open, there's no way your voice could have carried all the way down to the grounds."

"Well you're the one who's supposed to be researching magical methods of bugging!" said Harry. "You tell me how she did it!"

"I've been trying!" said Hermione. "But I...but..."

An odd, dreamy expression suddenly came over Hermione's face. She slowly raised a hand and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Are you alright?" said Ron, frowning at her.

"Yes," said Hermione breathlessly. She ran her fingers through her hair again, and then held her hand up to her mouth, as though speaking into an invisible walkie-talkie. Harry, Ron, and I all stared at each other.

"I've had an idea." Hermione said, gazing into space. "I think I know...because then no one would be able to see...even Moody...and she'd have been able to get onto the window ledge...but she's not allowed...she's _definitely_ not allowed... I think we've got her! Just give me two seconds in the library - just to make sure!"

With that, Hermione seized her school bag and dashed out of the Great Hall.

"Oi!" Ron called after her. "We've got our History of Magic exam in ten minutes! Blimey," he said, turning back to my brother and I. "she must really hate that Skeeter woman to risk missing the start of an exam."

I shrugged my shoulders. "She sort of does. Skeeter messed with her relationship with Theo, made him really really insecure about if Hermione actually liked him and not Krum."

Ron rolled his eyes. "There's no way that pureblood got insecure over Hermione."

I glared. "You yourself are proof that not all purebloods care about blood, Ron. Theodore Nott certainly doesn't. In fact I happen to know that he cares very deeply for Hermione. Besides, shouldn't you be more focused on that exam you were just talking about?"

He sighed, "Probably. There's no way I'm going to remember all those goblin rebel names."

I shrugged. "I had to actively memorize the list, so did Blaise. Took forever, mind you."

Ron looked at Harry. "So what're you going to do in Binns's class - read again?"

Since Harry was exempt from all end-of-term tests as a Triwizard Champion, he had been sitting in the back of every exam class so far, looking up fresh hexes for us to help him practice for the third task.

"I guess so," Harry said; but just then, Professor McGonagall came walking alongside the Gryffindor table toward him.

"Potter, the champions are congregating in the chamber off the Hall after breakfast." she said.

"But the task's not till tonight!" said Harry, accidentally spilling scrambled eggs down his front, his eyes going wide with worry.

"I'm aware of that, Potter." she said. "The champions' families are invited to watch the final task, you know. This is simply a chance for you to greet them."

She moved away, and Harry and I gaped at her.

"She doesn't actually expect the Dursleys to turn up, does she?" Harry asked me blankly.

"Dunno." I said, checking my watch before I grabbed my bag. "Harry, Ron and I need to hurry, or else we'll be late to our exam. I'll see you later."

I grabbed Ron by his collar and dragged him with me out of the Hall.

"Hey! I was still eating!" He protested through a mouthful of toast.

"Didn't you hear me? We'll be late." I said, rolling my eyes.

* * *

><p>"Well," I said, clearing my throat as my friends and I walked out of Binns's classroom. "<em>that<em> was pure and unadulterated torture."

Blaise nodded. "Very much so. I for got a few of the goblin rebel names, ended up making up some to cover for it."

I shook my head. "After all that work, you go and forget it anyway? Tsk tsk, Mister Zabini."

"You're telling me you didn't forget any of them?" he asked skeptically.

I shook my head. "Not a one, what about you, Theo?"

"Nope." said the black haired wizard, smirking.

"Draco?"

"I only forgot one of them." he admitted.

I huffed comically. "Slackers."

Blaise yawned. "Whatever, more importantly, am I the only one who's sore after sitting down for four hours?"

Draco straightened out his arms, stretching slightly and making the joints in his elbows pop loudly. "That answer your question?"

I shivered. "That's disgusting."

"You crack your knuckles all the time." the blond complained.

I frowned at him. "That's my knuckles, but places like your elbows shouldn't make that noise."

All three boys laughed a bit. "You're bothered by some of the strangest things, you know that, Lyra?" Theo informed me.

I rolled my eyes and picked up my pace to towards the Great Hall, which all three of them kept stride with. I hated being short. Clearing my throat again, I eyed Theo. "So, Sara and I were going to go sit with the Gryffindors for lunch, you want to join us? You could sit with Hermione."

He frowned. "I don't want to cause problems."

I snorted. "You'll be surrounded by Hermione, Harry, Ron, Sara, George, Fred, and I. I pity the fool who tries to make trouble with a group like that."

He paused a moment, before sighing. "I guess it wouldn't hurt. Besides, I haven't been spending much time with Hermione lately anyway, since you all have been practicing with Harry."

I smiled as we entered the Great Hall. "That's the spirit."

"There you are Lyra, I was wondering what was taking so long." said Sara as she walked up to us.

"It's called walking." I chuckled as I watched Ron walk past us. I looked at Draco and Blaise. "I'll see you two in the stands, shall I?"

"See you then." Draco confirmed, stepping closer to kiss me briefly on the cheek before he and Blaise walked to the Slytherin table.

"You two are _so_ cute together." Sara sighed.

I snorted as she, Theo, and I walked to the Gryffindor table. "Whatever. How was your exam? You had Ancient Runes, didn't you?"

She nodded. "Yeah, it was easy though."

I was about to say something else when Theo elbowed me. "Um, Lyra?"

Looking up, I saw he was staring at something at the Gryffindor table. Well, some_one_, that person being the Weasley family matriarch, and of course Bill, who was sitting beside her. Sara and Theo stopped walking. Sara cleared her throat. "You know what, I'll just meet you in the stands. I think Luna wanted to talk to me about something."

"Oh no you don't." I said, grabbing the sleeve of her robe before she could bolt. "Mrs. Weasley liked you the first time she met you, that's not going to change just because you're dating George now. In fact, she'll probably like you even more."

"That doesn't mean I have to meet her." said Theo, looking very uncomfortable.

I chuckled. "No, but you still should. Besides, she's a very warm woman, you'll see. She'll like you."

He looked like he wanted nothing more than to go back to the Slytherin table, but I pinned him in place with a glare, and reluctantly, both he and Sara walked to where Harry and Mrs. Weasley and Bill sat, talking with Ron.

"Mrs. Weasley, what on earth are you and Bill doing here?" I asked once we were within earshot.

She looked up with a smile. "We came to watch Harry in the final task!"

I smiled as my friends and I sat down. "Well I'm sure he's glad for the support."

Harry nodded. "I really am, Mrs. Weasley, Bill."

Bill shook his had. "Don't think anything of it, Harry. You're practically family. It'd have been a crime for at least one of us not to show up."

Sara chuckled. "What, don't Fred, George, Ron, and Ginny count?"

The red haired man grinned at her. "Of course not, they'd have been forced to go anyway. Besides, we wanted to come."

I chuckled. "You two remember Sara don't you?"

Bill nodded and Mrs. Weasley smiled warmly at the girl. "Of course I do, it's nice to see you again dear."

Sara blushed nervously at the attention from her boyfriend's mother. "Nice to see you too Mrs. Weasley."

I gestured to Theodore on my other side, where he was filling up his plate with sandwiches. "And this is Theo Nott, one of my friends in Slytherin."

Theo was about to say hello when the woman narrowed her eyes at him. "This is one of the boys you've been spending so much time with?"

I frowned and it took me a moment before I realized what she was talking about. I went bright red and scooted a bit away from the oblivious boy. "Absolutely not, I mean no. I mean, Theo and I are _just_ friends."

Theo, who seemed to have caught on, looked like he wanted nothing more than to sink beneath the table. Harry looked incredulously at the witch. "Mrs Weasley you didn't actually _believe _that rubbish that Rita Skeeter wrote in _Witch Weekly_, did you? Because Hermione's not my girlfriend, and Lyra certainly hasn't been jumping from boy to boy."

"Oh!" said Mrs Weasley. "No - of course I didn't!"

I had to restrain myself from rolling my eyes as I ladled some of the vegetable soup into a bowel. "The only thing that that 'article' got right was that Hermione is going out with Theo, and that I'm dating Draco. Skeeter just likes to make trouble."

Mrs Weasley looked startled. "So you _are_ dating Lucius's son?"

I glared at her. "Yes, and for your information, Draco hates his father. They are _nothing_ alike."

She frowned "I wasn't saying that he was."

I snorted and dunked a piece of a roll into my soup. "No, but you were thinking it. Everyone does. Slytherin loves him for it, my friends hate him for it. I'll not tolerate it."

The subject was dropped after that, but I noticed she was a bit colder towards me. Fred, George, and Ginny came to sit by us too, with Fred bursting the bubble on Sara and George the moment his twin sat down beside the blond Ravenclaw. Mrs Weasley had been thrilled, as I'd figured she would.

Hermione didn't actually join us until about halfway through lunch, sitting beside her very relieved looking boyfriend.

"I was beginning to think Lyra had dragged me over here for nothing." He said, kissing her on the cheek. "Where've you been?"

Hermione blushed prettily at the public display of affection. "In the Library."

Just then, I remembered her brainwave earlier about Rita Skeeter. Harry seemed to remember too, as he began to ask her, "Are you going to tell us-?"

Hermione shook her head warningly and glanced meaningfully at Mrs Weasley.

Lunch went by quickly after that, and all too soon we were leaving for the afternoon exam, we Slytherins had our last elective exam, meaning that Blaise and I had our Astronomy exam. It would be easy, I knew, but I hated written Astronomy tests. They were far less fun than looking through the telescope on Friday nights.

The exam went by quickly, and before I knew it, it was time for the evening feast in the Great Hall. Ludo Bagman and Cornelius Fudge had joined the staff table now. Bagman looked quite cheerful, but Cornelius Fudge, who was sitting next to Madame Maxime, looked stern and was not talking. Madame Maxime was concentrating on her plate, and I couldn't help but notice that her eyes looked red. Hagrid kept glancing along the table at her.

There were more courses than usual, but I didn't eat much since my stomach felt tight with the feeling of anxiety. I noticed that Harry was looking nervous too. As the enchanted ceiling overhead began to fade from blue to a dusky purple, Dumbledore rose to his feet at the staff table, and silence fell.

"Ladies and gentlemen, in five minutes' time, I will be asking you to make your way down to the Quidditch field for the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament. Will the champions please follow Mr. Bagman down to the stadium now."

Harry stood up from beside me. The Gryffindors all along the table were applauding him; those of us who'd been sitting with him all wished him luck, and he headed off out of the Great Hall with Cedric, Fleur, and Viktor.

As I watched them leave, I felt the pit in my stomach grow exponentially. I dropped my head into my hands, the heels of my palms rubbing at my eyes as I took a deep shuddering breath. Sara, who was sitting beside me again, rubbed circles into my back.

"He'll be okay Lyra." she said soothingly.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. "I know."

Five minutes later, as Dumbledore said, we were making our way down to the stands. Sara had elected to sit with me in the Gryffindor section, as had (to my shock and adoration) Draco, Blaise, and Theo. As we filed into the section, they got several glares, the residents of Gryffindor house making it known that they weren't happy with the company I kept, but the three boys admirably ignored them.

"I can't stand your brother," Draco admitted. "But he's still your brother, so I'll bet on him to win. And if he gets himself killed, I'll bring him back, and kill him again for making you cry."

I chuckled, squeezing his hand in thanks for the support.

We sat with the Weasleys about halfway down the stands, Mrs Weasley pointedly ignoring the platinum blond at my side. Theo ended up wedged between Fred and Hermione, and Blaise was banished to sit next to Ginny and Bill. Sara and Draco stuck to my sides like glue, and as such, I sat in the middle, with George on the other side of Sara, and Draco with his arm tucked around my waist.

Ludo Bagman stepped up onto the platform just in front of the entrance to the giant maze that the field had become (Draco and the other quidditch fanatics around me were **not** happy) and magically projected his voice, just as Fudge had done at the World Cup.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand! Tied in first place, with eighty-five points each - Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter, both of Hogwarts School!" the cheers and applause sent birds from the Forbidden forest fluttering into the darkening sky, I stood with the rest of the school to cheer for them. "In second place, with eighty points - Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!" More applause. "And in third place - Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beauxbatons Academy!"

I saw Harry waving to us from the field, I stood up as tall as I could and waved back, beaming at him despite the rolling fear in my stomach.

"So...on my whistle, Harry and Cedric!" said Bagman as everyone settled down and sat back. "Three - two - one -"

He gave a short blast on his whistle, and Harry and Cedric hurried forward into the maze, vanishing from my line of sight. I felt myself start to get tense, a horrible dreading feeling suddenly overcoming me.


	46. The clap of thunder

**In this chapter, I am reminded of a scene from the movie the Incredibles. Which one, you ask? Why, the one about the monologging, of course! 'Haha, you've got me monologging, you sly dog!'**

**And the reason I am reminded of this, is because Voldemort is an annoying, narcissistic, monologging bastard.**

**Pipe the fuck down.**

* * *

><p>After the champions had all disappeared into the maze, it had become a waiting game. Theo only thing to do was wait and watch the maze. The only indication of where the champions were was the faint glow of wand lights that traveled through the different paths, no way of telling who was who. Every now and again there would be a spot in the maze that would light up with a bright color produced by a spell or hex of some kind. One time, near the start of the task, I had seen the silvery form of some galloping creature before it vanished into whispy smoke. Recognizing it as Harry's Patronus, I'd tugged on Draco's sleeve and pointed it out to him frantically.<p>

Once, there were red sparks sent up, and they announced that Fleur was out. Then again, and Krum was announced.

There was some sort of fight near the middle of the maze, ruddy orange flashes appeared in quick succession, and then a lull before a bright blue glow emitted from the very center before everything went quiet.

"D'you reckon that that was one of them getting to the cup?" Sara murmured after a few minutes.

I was about to say something when my scar suddenly exploded with pain. I doubled over and tried my hardest not to scream as I clutched at my neck. Distantly, I heard the voices of Draco and others all asking me what was wrong, but all I could do was gasp and clench my teeth. I didn't want to make a scene, all it'd do was give proof to that bloody article of Skeeter's.

The last thing I was aware of before I passed out was someone lifting me up.

And then it was all darkness and black smoke inside my mind as I screamed silently in pain. I'd no idea what was happening, only that I hurt.

My eyes were shut tight as I wailed. The skin at the center of my forehead, and on the juncture at my neck felt as though it would literally melt off my body. I could hear the sounds of a boy screaming in pain.

Could Harry feel this pain? Some sane part of my mind wondered. Was he in that maze now, screaming as I was screaming?

And then it stopped hurting, slowly fading away as I drifted in that darkness. It felt like hours before my eyes opened to see a stone ceiling. I groaned as I sat up, realizing that I was in one of the ever uncomfortable beds in the Hospital wing.

"Lyra?"

Looking to my left, I saw that Blaise Theo, Sara, and Draco were all perched on the bed next to mine. Sara was in tears, Blaise and Theo looked as though they were ready to tear out their own hair, Draco looked ready to pass out.

I groaned again as I massaged at my neck. "What's going on? Why are we in the Hospital wing?"

Draco made a strangled sound before he cleared his throat to speak. "We were hoping you could tell us. You collapsed in the middle of the stands, snaking and holding your scar."

"I don't know, one second I was fine and then the next my skin was set on fire. My scar was burning." I shook my head. A thought occurred to me. "Where's Harry? Is the tournament over yet? What happened?"

The four of them exchanged glances, and Blaise frowned at me."We're not sure. There was that blue light and then the maze just went dark. The officials hadn't said anything by the time Draco picked you up and carried you out of the stands."

I scooted to the edge of the bed. "I need to go see what's happened."

"What? Lyra what're you talking about?" Draco said, reaching over and grabbing my arm to keep me in my bed. "You need to rest."

I shot him a dangerous look. "If my scar was burning, I'm sure that Harry's did too. What if something happened to him in that maze because of it? Besides that I've got a really_ really_ bad feeling."

"Lyra, the officials would have gone and gotten him if something had happened to him." Theo said,

Sara nodded, her eyes still running. "You need rest, you passed out you were in so much pain."

I glared at them and stood to walk to the door as I felt my scar start to prickle again. "I'm fine I don't need -"

And then it was burning again. My scar hurt horribly, so did my head, and I tripped and fell as I tried to get to the door. I felt my head crack against the floor and I vanished into horribly painful darkness once more.

But this time the darkness lasted only the barest of moments before I heard the howl of a man in pain, and my now opened eyes focused to see a sight I'd never wanted to see again.

Voldemort had indeed returned.

My arm hurt, my leg was searing with a dull throbbing pain, and my forehead and neck felt like they were on fire. Where on earth was this? Surely not another nightmare? They'd been horribly vivid, but this time it felt as though I were truly here. In a graveyard with the darkest wizard ever to exist in our generation.

Voldemort had his fingers pressed to a man's arm, Wormtail. When the monster of a man removed his fingers from his follower's arm, the Dark Mark shone jet black on his arm.

A look of cruel satisfaction on his face, Voldemort straightened up, threw back his head, and stared around at the dark graveyard.

"How many will be brave enough to return when they feel it?" he whispered, his gleaming red eyes fixed upon the stars. "And how many will be foolish enough to stay away?"

He began to pace up and down before Wormtail, eyes sweeping the graveyard all the while. After a minute or so, he looked directly at me, a cruel smile twisting his snakelike face, and for a horrible moment I thought maybe I really _was_ there. Had I been apparated?

But it was worse, I realized, far worse than that.

**(A/N: This is the beginning of Asshole's monolog. If you don't care to read it, scroll until you see another in-story bolded author's note, although the part where he's talking to Lucius Malfoy is sort of important.)**

"You stand, Harry Potter, upon the remains of my late father," he hissed softly. "A Muggle and a fool...very like your dear mother. But they both had their uses, did they not? Your mother died to protect you and your wretched sister as children...and I killed my father, and see how useful he has proved himself, in death..."

Voldemort laughed. Up and down he paces, looking all around him as he walked and the snake I'd seen in my nightmares circled in the grass. My horror and fear had reached an all consuming point as I took notice of the black rims around my vision, and the motionless body of Cedric Diggory laying some twenty feet away beside the Triwizard Cup._ I was looking through Harry's eyes._ My most horrible nightmare yet, and it was really happening, there was no longer any denying it.

"You see that house upon the hillside, Potter? My father lived there. My mother, a witch who lived here in this village, fell in love with him. But he abandoned her when she told him what she was... He didn't like magic, my father...

"He left her and returned to his Muggle parents before I was even born, Potter, and she died giving birth to me, leaving me to be raised in a Muggle orphanage...but I vowed to find him... I revenged myself upon him, that fool who gave me his name... _Tom Riddle..._"

Still he paced, his red eyes darting from grave to grave.

"Listen to me, reliving my family history..." he said quietly. "why, I am growing quite sentimental... But look, Harry! My _true_ family returns..."

The air was suddenly full of the swishing of cloaks. Between graves, behind a yew tree, in every shadowy space, wizards ere apparating. All of them were hooded and masked. And one by one they moved forward...slowly, cautiously, as though they could hardly believe their eyes. Voldemort stood in silence, waiting for them. Then, one of the Death Eaters fell to his knees, crawled toward Voldemort, and kissed the hem of his black robes.

"Master... Master..." he murmured.

The Death Eaters behind him did the same; each of them approaching Voldemort on their knees and kissing his robes before backing away, standing up, and forming a circle, which enclosed Tom Riddle's grave, Harry, Voldemort, and the sobbing and twitching heap that was Wormtail. Yet they left gaps in the circle, as though waiting for more people. Voldemort, however, did not seem to expect more. He looked around at the hooded faces, and though there was no wind, a rustling seemed to run around the circle, as though it had shivered.

"Welcome, Death Eaters," said Voldemort quietly. "Thirteen years... Thirteen years since we last met. Yet you answer my call as though it were yesterday... We are still united under the Dark Mark, then! _Or are we?_"

He put back his terrible face and sniffed, his slit like nostrils widening.

"I smell guilt," he said. "There is a stench of guilt upon the air."

A second shiver tan around the circle, as though each member of it longed, but did not dare to step back from him.

"I see you all, whole and healthy, with your powers intact - such prompt appearances! - and I ask myself...why did this band of wizards never come to the aid of their master, to whom they swore eternal loyalty?"

No one spoke. No one moved except Wormtail, who was upon the ground, still sobbing over his bleeding arm.

"And I answer myself," whispered Voldemort, "They must have believed me broken, they thought I was gone. They slipped back among my enemies, and they pleaded innocence, and ignorance, and bewitchment...

"And then I ask myself, but how could they have believed I would not rise again? They, who knew the steps I took, long ago, to guard myself against a mortal death? They, who had seen the proofs of the immensity of my power in the times when I was mightier than any wizard living?

"And I answer myself, perhaps they believed a still greater power could exist, one that could vanquish Lord Voldemort...perhaps they now pay allegiance to another...perhaps that champion of commoners, of Mudbloods and Muggles, Albus Dumbledore?"

At the mention of Dumbledore's name, the members of the circle stirred, and some of them muttered and shook their heads. Voldemort ignored them.

"It is a disappointment to me... I confess myself disappointed..."

One of the men suddenly flung himself forward, breaking the circle. Trembling from head to foot, he collapsed at Voldemort's feet.

"Master!" he shrieked. "Master, forgive me! Forgive us all!"

Voldemort began to laugh. He raised his wand.

_"__Crucio!"_

The Death Eater on the ground writhed and shrieked; I was sure that the mound must cary to the houses around, Harry must have thought the same, because suddenly I could hear his thoughts with my own. _Let the police come, _he thought desperately... _Anyone... Anything..._

Voldemort raised his wand. The tortured Death Eater lay flat upon the ground, gasping.

"Get up, Avery." said Voldemort softly. "Stand up. You ask for forgiveness? I do not forgive. I do not forget. Thirteen long years... I want thirteen years' repayment before I forgive you. Wormtail here has already paid some of his debt already, have you not, Wormtail?"

He looked down at Wormtail who continued to sob.

"You returned to me, not out of loyalty, but out of fear of your old friends. You deserve this pain, Wormtail. You know that, don't you?"

"Yes Master," moaned Wormtail. "please, Master...please..."

"Yet you helped return me to my body," said Voldemort cooly, watching Wormtail sob on the ground. "Worthless and traitorous though you are, you helped me...and Lord Voldemort rewards his helpers..."

Voldemort lifted his wand again and whirled it through the air. A streak of what looked like molten silver hung shining in the wand's wake. Momentarily shapeless, it writhed and then formed itself into a gleaming replica of a human hand, bright as moonlight, which soared downward and fixed itself upon Wormtail's bleeding wrist.

Wormtail's sobbing stopped abruptly. His breathing harsh and ragged, he raises his head and stared in disbelief at the silver hand, now attached seamlessly to his arm, as though he wore a dazzling glove. He flexed his shining fingers, then, trembling, picked up a small twig from the ground and crushed it into powder.

"My Lord," he whispered. "Master...it is beautiful...thank you..._thank you_..."

He scrambled forward on his knees and kissed the hem of Voldemort's robes.

"May your loyalty never waver again, Wormtail," said Voldemort.

"No, my Lord...never, my Lord..."

Wormtail stood up and took his place in the circle, staring at his powerful new hand, his face still shining with tears. Voldemort now approached the man on Wormtail's right.

"Lucius, my slippery friend," he whispered, halting before him. "I am told that you have not renounced the old ways, though to the world you present a respectable face. You are still ready to take the lead in a spot of Muggle-torture, I believe? Yet you never tried to find me, Lucius...Your exploits at the Quidditch world cup were fun, I daresay...but might not your energies have been better directed toward finding and aiding your master?"

"My lord, I was constantly on the alert," came Lucius Malfoy's voice swiftly from beneath the hood, filling me with a horrid rage despite my paralyzing fear. "Had there been any sign from you, and whisper of your whereabouts, I would have been at your side immediately. Nothing could have prevented me -"

"And yet you ran from my Mark, when a faithful Death Eater sent it into the sky las summer?" said Voldemort lazily, and Lucius stopped talking abruptly. "Yes, I know all about that, Lucius... You have disappointed me... I expect more faithful service in the future, from both you _and_ your son."

"My - my son, my Lord?"

Voldemort's cruel little smile widened ever so slightly, and I felt all of my anger vanish into panic. Oh Fates, please say he didn't know...

"Did you think I hadn't heard of what he's been up to lately? Oh yes, my spy at Hogwarts has told me all about his... Companions. Consorting with that bloodtraitor Nott Jr, though that's perhaps not quite as traitorous as his _relationship _with one Lyra Potter."

Lucius's voice became harsh, furious even, and said something that would have made my blood run cold, had I been in my own body. "Believe me my Lord, I had already had intentions to _deal_ with Draco's indiscretions against the old ways, and especially against you, my Lord. He will indeed see the error of his ways, and support you as he was raised to do."

Voldemort said nothing, moving on only to come to a halt in front of the empty space - large enough for two people - beside Lucius. "The Lestranges should stand here," said Voldemort quietly. "But they are entombed in Azkaban. They were faithful. They went to Azkaban rather than renounce me... When Azkaban is broken open, the Lestranges shall be honored beyond their dreams. The dementors will join us...they are our natural allies...we will recall the banished giants... I shall have all my devoted servants returned to me, and an army of creatures whom all fear..."

He walked on. Some of the Death Eaters he passed in silence, but he paused before others and spoke to them.

"Macnair...destroying dangerous beasts for the Ministry of Magic now, wormtail tells me? You shall have better victims than that soon, Voldemort will provide..."

"Thank you, Master...thank you" murmured Macnair.

"And here," - Voldemort moved on to the two largest hooded figures - "we have Crabbe... You will do better this time will you not, Crabbe? And you, Goyle?"

They bowed clumsily, muttering dully.

"Yes, Master..."

"We will, Master..."

"The same goes for you, Nott," said Voldemort quietly as he stepped in front of a stooped shadow in Mr. Goyle's shadow.

"My Lord, I prostrate myself before you, I am your most faithful -"

"That will do," said Voldemort, effectively shutting him up. "Though, I trust you, like Lucius, will deal with the smear upon your good name? We wouldn't want such a good, pure family line being polluted because of a young man with poor judgment."

The shadowed figure of Theodore Nott Senior suddenly stood straighter, his voice turning positively malevolent, and heavy with unsaid meaning. "Believe me my Lord, my _son_ will pay his dues for associating himself with that Mudblood."

"Good, good," murmured Voldemort as he moved on until he reached the largest gap of all. He stood surveying it with his blank, red eyes, as though he could see people standing there.

"And here we have six missing Death Eaters...three dead in my service. One, too cowardly to return...he will pay. One, who I believe has left me forever...he will be killed, of course...and one, who remains my most faithful servant, and who has already reentered my service."

The Death Eaters stirred, and I could see their eyes dart sideways at one another through their masks.

"He is at Hogwarts that faithful servant, and it was through his efforts that our young friend arrived here tonight...

"Yes," said Voldemort, a grin curling his lipless mouth as the eyes of the circle flashed in Harry's direction. "Harry Potter has kindly joined us for my rebirthing party. One might go so far as to call him my guest of honor."

There was a silence. Then the Death Eater to the right of Wormtail stepped forward, and Lucius Malfoy's voice spoke from under the mask.

"Master, we crave to know...we beg you to tell us...how you have achieved this...this miracle...how you managed to return to us..."

"Ah, what a story it is, Lucius," said Voldemort. "And it begins - and ends - with my young friend here."

He walked lazily over to stand next to Harry, so that the eyes of the whole circle were upon the two of them. The snake continued to circle.

"You know, of course, that they have called this boy and his sister my downfall?" Voldemort said softly, his red eyes upon Harry, my scar and the spot on my forehead began to burn so fiercely that I wanted to scream in agony, and I could feel Harry straining against what I assumed was a gag, though only a slight muffled sound escaped. "You all know that on the night I lost my powers and my body, I tried to kill him. His mother died in the attempt to save them - and unwittingly provided the siblings with a protection I admit I had not foreseen...I could not touch them."

Voldemort raised one of his long white fingers and put it very close to Harry's cheek.

"His mother left upon her children traces of her sacrifice... This is old magic, I should have remembered it, I was foolish to overlook it...but no matter. I can touch them now."

I felt the cold tip of the long white finger touch Harry's face, and I felt as if my head would explode clean from my shoulders, the muffled screams coming from Harry increased in volume, I could feel his throat getting raw. Voldemort laughed softly in Harry's ear, then took the finger away and continued addressing the Death Eaters

"I miscalculated, my friends, I admit it. My curse was deflected by that woman's foolish sacrifice, and it rebounded upon myself. Aaah...pain beyond pain, my friends; nothing could have prepared me for it. I was ripped from my body, I was less than a spirit, less than the meanest ghost...but still, I was alive. What I was, even I do not know... I, who have gone further than anybody along the path that leads to immortality. You know my goal - to conquer death. And now, I was tested...for I had not been killed, though the curse should have done it. Nevertheless, I was as powerless as the weakest creature alice, and without means to help myself...for I had no body, and every spell that might have helped me required the use of a wand...

"I remember only forcing myself, sleeplessly, endlessly, second by second, to exist... I settled in a faraway place, in a forest, and I waited... Surely, one of my faithful Death Eaters would try and find me...one of them would come and preform the magic I could not, to restore me to a body...but I waited in vain..."

The shiver ran once more around the circle of listening Death Eaters. Voldemort let the silence spiral horribly before continuing.

"Only one power remained to me. I could possess the bodies of others. But I dared not go where other humans were plentiful, for I knew that the Aurors were still abroad and searching for me. I sometimes inhabited animals - snakes, of course, being my preference - but I was little better off inside them than as a pure spirit, for their bodies were ill adapted to preform magic...and my possession of them shortened their lives; none of them lasted long...

"Then...four years ago...the means for my return seemed assured. A wizard - young, foolish, and gullible - wandered across my path in the forest I had made my home. Oh, he seemed the very chance I had been dreaming of...for he was a teacher at Dumbledore's school...he was easy to bend to my will... He brought me back to this country, and after a while, I took possession of his body, to supervise him closely as he carried out my orders. But my plan failed. I did not manage to steal the Sorcerer's Stone. I was not to be assured immortal life. I was thwarted...thwarted once again, by Harry Potter..."

Silence once more; nothing was stirring, not even the leaves on the nearby yew tree. The Death Eaters were quite motionless, the glittering eyes in their masks fixed upon Voldemort, and upon Harry.

"The servant died when I left his body, and I was left as weak as I ever had been," Voldemort continued. "I returned to my hiding place far away, and I will not pretend to you that I didn't fear that I might never regain my powers...Yes that was perhaps my darkest hour... I could not hope that I would be sent another wizard to possess...and I had given up hope now, that any of my Death Eaters cared what had become of me..."

One or two of the masked wizards in the circle shifted uncomfortable, but Voldemort took no notice.

"And then, not even a year ago, when I had almost given up hope, it happened at last...a servant returned to me. Wormtail here, who had faked his own death to escape justice, was driven out of hiding by those he had once counted friends, and decided to return to his master. He sought me out in the country where it had long been rumored I was hiding...helped, of course, by the rats he met along the way. Wormtail has a curious affinity for rats, do you not, Wormtail? His filthy little friends told him there was a place, deep in an Albanian forest, that they avoided, where small animals like themselves had met their deaths by a dark shadow that possessed them...

"But his journey back to me was not smooth, was it, Wormtail? For, hungry one night, on the edge of the very forest where he had hoped to find me, he foolishly stopped at an inn for some food...and who should he meet there, but one Bertha Jorkins, a witch from the Ministry of Magic.

"Now see the way that fate favors Lord Voldemort. This might have been the end of Wormtail, and of my last hope for regeneration. But Wormtail - displaying a presence of mind I would never have expected from him - convinced Bertha Jorkins to accompany him on a nighttime stroll. He overpowered her...he brought her to me. And Bertha Jorkins, who might have ruined it all, proved to be a gift beyond my wildest dreams...for - with a little persuasion - she became a veritable mine of information.

"She told me that the Triwizard Tournament would be played at Hogwarts this year. She told me that she knew of a faithful Death Eater who would be only too willing to help me, if I could only contact him. She told me many things...but the means by which I broke the Memory Charm on her were powerful, and when I had extracted all useful information from her, her mind and body were both damaged beyond repair. She had now served her purpose. I could not posses her. I disposed of her."

Voldemort smiled his terrible smile, his red eyes blank and pitiless.

"Wormtail's body of course, was ill adapted for possession, as all assumed him dead, and would attract far too much attention if noticed. However, he was the able-bodied servant I needed, and, poor wizard though he is, Wormtail was able to follow the instructions I gave him, which would return me to a rudimentary, weak body of my own, a body I would be able to inhabit while awaiting the essential ingredients for true rebirth...a spell or two of my own invention...a little help from my dear Nagini," Voldemort's red eyes fell upon the continually circling snake. "a potion concocted from unicorn blood, and the snake venom Nagini provided... I was soon returned to an almost human form, and was strong enough to travel.

"There was no hope of stealing the Sorcerer's Stone anymore, of I knew that Dumbledore would have seen to it that it was destroyed. But I was willing to embrace mortal life again, before chasing immortality. I set my sights lower... I would settle for my old body back, and my old strength.

"I knew that to achieve this - it is an old piece of Dark Magic, the potion that revived me tonight - I would need three powerful ingredients. Well, one of them was already at hand, was it not, Wormtail? Flesh given by a servant...

"My father's bone, naturally, meant that we would have to come here, where he was buried. But the blood of a foe... Wormtail would have had me use any wizard, would you not, Wormtail? Any wizard who had hated me...as so many of them still do. But I knew the ones I must use, if I was to rise again, more powerful then when I had fallen. I wanted one of the blood of one of the Potter children who'd stripped me of my power thirteen years ago...for the lingering protection their mother once gave them would reside in my veins too...

"But how to get at one of the twins? For they both have been better protected than I think even they know, protected in ways devised by Dumbledore long ago, when it fell to him to arrange the children's futures. Dumbledore invoked ancient magic, to ensure the children's protection as long as they resided in their new families' care. Not even I could touch them there, not even when Lyra Potter moved into that boarding house, protected as it was by a Fidelius Charm... Then, of course, there was the Quidditch World Cup... I thought their protection might be weaker there, away from their homes and Dumbledore, but I was not yet strong enough to attempt kidnap in the midst of a horde of Ministry wizards. And then, the pair would return to Hogwarts, where they would be under the crooked nose of that Muggle-loving fool from morning until night. So how could I take them?

"Why...by using Bertha Jorkins's information, of course. Use one of my one faithful Death Eater, stationed at Hogwarts, to ensure that the siblings' names were entered into the Goblet of Fire, and that at very least one of their names came out. Use my Death Eater to ensure they won the tournament - that they touched the Triwizard Cup first - the cup which my Death Eater turned into a Portkey, which would bring them here, beyond the reach of Dumbledore's help and protection, into my waiting arms. And here he is...one of the siblings you all believed had been my downfall..."

Voldemort moved slowly forward and turned to face Harry. He raised his wand.

_"__Crucio!"_

It was pain beyond anything I'd ever experienced; my very bones were on fire; my head was surely splitting along my forehead; my neck was being severed along my scar; I wanted it to end...to blackout...to die...

And then it was gone. Harry was hanging limply in the ropes binding him to what I assumed was a headstone, looking up into those bright red eyes through a kind of mist.

The night was ringing with the sound of the Death Eaters' laughter.

"You see, I think, how foolish it was to suppose that mere _children_ could have ever been stronger than me," said Voldemort. "But I want there to be no mistake in anybody's mind. The Potters escaped me by a lucky chance. And now I am going to prove my power by killing the brother, here and now, in front of you all, when there is no Dumbledore to help him, and no mother or sister to die for him. I will give him this chance. He will be allowed to fight, and you will be left in no doubt which of us is stronger. And then, once he is dead, I will seek out the sister, and I will kill her as well, as she is unfortunately unable to be with us tonight."

The eyes of the Death Eaters gleamed from beneath their masks, watching with rapt attention.

"Wormtail, untie him and give him back his wand."

**(A/N: Mmkay, monologue over.)**

I felt Harry scramble to stand on his own as Wormtail approached him, I saw the traitor reaching to pull the gag from Harry's mouth, and then I saw nothing.

I felt my own body again suddenly, and it was warm, like I had been sitting by the fire for several hours. I could feel my throat hurting, and my scar burning.

My eyes flashed open and I sat up gasping. I was back in my own body. I was back in the Hospital Wing.

Looking around, I saw a pale Madame Pomfrey standing beside my bed, holding an empty potion bottle, and my four friends sitting on the bed again, looking worse than before. Sara was still crying, Theo and Blaise were both nervous wrecks, and Draco's eyes were red and shining with tears.

"Lyra! Thank Merlin!" he gasped as he lurched forward to hug me.

I tried to shove him off me, trying to croak out a warning of what I'd seen, but my throat felt thick, raw, and swollen.

Blaise was shaking when he spoke. "Lyra, what the bloody hell is going on? You've been out for more than half an hour. You were clutching your scar and screaming. Madame Pomfrey had to give you a sedative before we could even try and wake you up with a potion."

I was trembling like a leaf as I tried to speak, but my throat hurt so badly, I couldn't get a word out before the nurse was interrupting me.

"Children, Miss Potter needs some peace and quiet. I think maybe you should all go back down to the stadium to watch the tournament." The resident Mediwitch said. "Go on, off with you. Now."

They looked like they wanted nothing more than to stay, but there was no arguing with Madame Pomfrey as everyone knew. They stood to leave, every one of them looking back more than a few times.

They couldn't leave though, I had to tell them, had to tell Dumbledore. I tried to stand up, but Madame Pomfrey grabbed my arm to keep me in bed. "You will stay right here. I don't know what on earth is going on with you young lady, but you need rest."

I struggled against her, straining to get away from her, my friends paused, looking at me with concern. Sara spoke. "Lyra, listen to her you-"

_"__Listen to me!" _I managed to gasp out finally, my voice straining and grainy, as though I were horribly ill. "Get Dumbledore!"

Madame Pomfrey tutted at me. "The headmaster is busy seeing to the-"

"Voldemort's back!" I wheezed. "You have to tell Dumbledore!"

"Lyra what're you talking about?" Draco said sharply, looking at me with wide grey eyes.

The nurse however, wasn't having any of it. "You-Know-Who is dead, Miss Potter. Everyone knows that. Now you need rest, clearly you're overly stressed from some sort of nightmare-"

"It wasn't just a nightmare! Voldemort's back! He's go Harry! The Triwizard Cup was a Portkey! We have to tell Dumbledore! Get Dumbledore!" I tried to shout hoarsely.

"Now wait just a minute!"

_"__Stupefy!"_

The Mediwitch suddenly went ridged, and fell backwards onto the next cot as she was hit with a jet of orange light. I turned to look at Theo Nott with wide eyes. His face was stony. "We need to get you to Dumbledore."

I nodded in agreement.

_There isn't time to feel bad about stunning Madame Pomfrey, _I rationalized as Draco and Blaise helped me out of bed. My legs were too shaky for me to stand on my own, and my body felt exhausted for reasons that I couldn't explain. The spot on my forehead felt nearly as bad as my scar did, and the doubled pain was making me dizzy.

"So it's really happened then?" Draco asked as they hurried me down the staircases. Idly, I wondered why the Hospital Wing was on the seventh floor.

I nodded mutely. My throat hurt too much to talk much more after my outburst, and I _had_ to be able to tell Dumbledore. However, halfway to the Entrance hall, we encountered someone who made me fling myself backward and away from them.

_"__Death Eater." _I rasped furiously, stumbling back into Theodore.

Snape's eyes widened, looking both furious and relieved at the sight of the five of us. My eyes zeroed in on where he was clutching his arm. My friends looked between me and our potions master in shock.

"The headmaster sent me to find you." he said stiffly.

"As if." I spat.

"Karkaroff has fled and the tournament officials have been panicking ever since they lost track of Diggory and your brother an hour ago." he snapped. "I have been instructed by Dumbledore to find you and bring you too him."

"Tell us where he is, and _we_ will take her to him." Sara said defiantly.

Snape narrowed his eyes in rage at the girl, but after glancing at me where I was hanging almost limply against Theo, he relented. "At the ground entrance to the Quidditch pitch, with the other officials."

And with that, we were off, going as fast as we could, I forced my tired, wobbly body into a run as we got outside the castle. I didn't go for long however before I tripped and fell hard, landing painfully on my front. Groaning, and trying to remain in control of my tear ducts, I struggled to stand up. Sara stopped me.

"You're exhausted, Lyra, let someone carry you. If you transform, then we wont have to slow down." she said, still tearful.

Nodding, I forced my tired body into the transformation before Draco picked me up. When we reached the ground entrance, we had to shove through a small crowd of teachers and students to get to where the judges were, as everyone seemed to want to know what was going on. Draco's arms caged around me protectively as he shouldered his way past them. When we reached the area where the teachers in charge of security were standing in the way he glared at them.

"Lyra _needs_ to see Dumbledore, _now_." he growled at our Charms professor.

Flitwick, looking startled, glanced at where I sat cradled in Draco's arms, and stepped aside without a word.

Dumbledore had spotted us now, and was walking hurriedly over. I leaped from the stable safety of my boyfriend's arms, morphing, and stumbled to get my balance upon landing. Draco had to grab my arm to keep from falling over.

"Lyra, where on earth have you -"

"He's back professor," I rasped, "Voldemort-"

"I know, Lyra. Severus told me the moment he felt the Dark Lord's call." Dumbledore said calmly. "Where have you been?"

"She was in the Hospital Wing, sir." Draco answered. "Her scar started hurting and she passed out."

Dumbledore was suddenly staring at me very intensely. "What did you see?"

I felt myself start to cry as I relayed in my hoarse and scratchy voice a brief description of what I'd seen.

"We have to get to them, Professor," I begged. "He's going to kill my brother!"

"I promise you dear, we will get-"

There was suddenly a bright flash of light near the entrance to the maze, and suddenly, the pain in my scar, and the pain in my forehead faded down to a dull burning. When the light was gone, I looked to see that there were two bodies laying on the grass. One of them was clutching the Triwizard cup.


	47. The downpour

**WOO! My boyfriend should go out of town more often if it means he's going to come back with concert tickets. We went to The Band Perry concert that was recently held in Virginia (to those of you who haven't figured it out/assumed, yes, I am an American). It was a ton of fun and I got some pretty cool pictures (they were actually pretty damn good seats). **

**Apparently it was (the lead singer) Kimberly Perry's birthday, and her brothers had us all sing 'happy birthday' to her. Pretty cute of them to be honest, though I've no idea if she was expecting it or not.**

**Anyway, my boyfriend has work right now, and I still can't find a job. It's been less than a month and a half since graduation though, so I'm not in panic mode just yet. As such, and since the internet is still down - eliminating the possibility of online applications - I shall give you another chapter.**

**Side note: as I am vaguely star struck after writing about the concert, I can't help but wonder if anyone famous reads my fanfiction. Though honestly, I highly doubt it, they probably have much better things to be doing than read a crappy story written by a seventeen year old.**

* * *

><p>I recognized the one holding the cup to be my twin. I felt my breath catch when he didn't move. I rushed over to him, falling to my knees beside him.<p>

"Harry!_ Harry!_" I sobbed as I rolled him over. His green eyes opened behind his glasses, of which one of the lenses had cracked. He let go of the cup, but I saw that he was still clutching Cedric tightly. Vaguely I realized that Dumbledore was kneeling beside me.

Harry's eyes focused on our headmaster, and his free hand seized the old wizard's wrist.

"He's back." Harry whispered. "He's back. Voldemort."

"What's going on? What's happened?"

I looked up to see Cornelius Fudge leaning over Harry, looking white, appalled.

"My God - Diggory!" he whispered. "Dumbledore - he's dead!"

Around us, the words were repeated, over and over again, the crowd around us gasped it to one another...and then others shouted it - screeched it - into the night - "He's dead!" "He's _dead!_" "Cedric Diggory! _Dead!_"

"Harry let go of him," Fudge was saying, and he tried to pry my brother's fingertips from the boy's limp body, but Harry wouldn't let him go

Still crying, I leaned over and hugged him. Trying to keep my voice level, I murmured to him. "Harry, you can't help him now. It's over. You have to let go."

"He wanted me to bring him back," Harry muttered. "He wanted me to bring him back to his parents..."

I tried not to sob as I held him. "That's right, Harry...just let go now...we'll get him to them..."

Harry's grip on the dead boy finally relinquished, and his arms came up around me, hugging me back as weakly as I held him. Someone helped stand us both up, and I felt Harry sag to the side, and I caught him, holding him upright. I realized that the pain in my leg earlier was in fact a gash in his own leg which I'd felt when our minds had been shoved into the same body.

The crowd was pressing in on us, jostling each other to get closer. - "What's happened?" "What's wrong with him?" _"Diggory's dead!"_

"He'll need to go to the hospital wing!" Fudge was saying loudly. "He's ill, he's injured - Dumbledore, Diggory's parents, they're here in the stands..."

"I'll take Harry, Dumbledore, I'll take him -"

"No, I would prefer -"

"Dumbledore, Amos Diggory's running...he's coming over...Don't you think you should tell him - before he sees -?"

"Lyra, Harry, stay here -"

People were screaming, some were sobbing hysterically... I held my brother tightly, both of us shaking... Then another larger set of hands dragged us apart.

"He needs to lay down, I'll take him to the Hospital wing." said Mad-eye Moody.

"Dumbledore said stay." said Harry thickly, his eyes looked bleary and unfocused behind his glasses. I wasn't even sure he knew it was Mad-eye who was holding him upright now.

"You need to lay down, come on now." Mad-eye began half pulling, half carrying my brother through the frightened crowd.

I tried to follow then, but people were all pressing forward to see what had happened. They were gaping, screaming, shouting, shoving. I didn't know how the man got through, but I couldn't possibly have kept up shoving my way through the crowd, as tired as I was. I felt a hand grab me and I turned to see Draco, grey eyes wide with fear and worry.

"Lyra, what's going on?"

I shook my head. "Moody took Harry up to the castle. But I couldn't keep up." I croaked as I tried to keep my balance as people shoved into me.

Draco's face became determined. "C'mon." he said, his grip on my arm became tighter and he began shouldering his way out towards the exit as he dragged me behind him on stumbling legs. Far more quickly than I'd have been able to myself, we broke free from the hysterical crowd, and on the lawn.

"My scar isn't hurting so much now," I rasped, pulling my arm free of his grasp. "I can run fine now, and I'll be faster on my own."

"Are you sure?" he asked, looking doubtful.

I nodded. I was tired, and wanted nothing more than to lay down somewhere, but if I were on all fours, I could catch up to them faster, and there'd be less likelihood of me tripping and falling. Forcing myself into the transformation, I shuddered as I slipped into my furred form. It was always felt strange switching forms, but it was nearly painful when I was already tired.

Taking a deep breath, I bolted off in the direction of the castle, across the lawn, past the lake and the Durmstrang ship. I could feel nothing other than my aching limbs and the still dull throb of my scar, and my body begging me to stop and fall asleep somewhere comfortable. Still I ran, but once inside the castle, as I ran up the moving marble staircases, I realized that the scent of Moody and my brother was not headed towards the Hospital Wing as Moody had claimed, but instead was veering towards the professor's office.

Wondering vaguely what Mad-eye was up to, I followed my nose, only stopping when I reached the closed door, I transformed and reached to open the door. But I found it locked. Furrowing my brow, I knocked on the door, but received no response. My nose was never wrong. The two of them were in that room, but why the door was locked baffled me.

I heard footsteps, and when I turned, I saw Professor Dumbledore rushing down the corridor along with Professors McGonagall and Snape. "Professor, Harry's -"

"I know." he said as he thrust me of the way, and I looked up at his expression, only to suddenly want to back away from him as he stood before the door.

All at once I understood why people said that Albus Dumbledore was the only wizard Voldemort had ever feared. The look upon his face as he pointed his wand at the locked door was more terrible than I could have ever imagined. There was no benign smile upon Dumbledore's face, no twinkle in the eyes behind the spectacles. There was cold fury in every line of the ancient face; a sense of power radiated from Dumbledore as though he were giving off burning heat.

_"__Stupefy!"_

With a blinding flash of red light, and a great splintering and crashing, the door of Moody's office was blasted apart. The wizard within was thrown backward onto the stone floor.

"P-professor?" I stuttered in shock. "What's going on?"

Dumbledore gave me no answer as he stepped into the office and placed a foot under Moody's unconscious body, and kicked him over onto his back, so that his face was visible. Snape followed him, as did McGonagall. None of them did more than glance at me. Peeking around the ruined door, I saw Harry was backed up into the far corner with his wand out.

McGonagall went straight to Harry.

"Come along, Potter," I heard her murmur, the thin line of her mouth was twitching as though she were about to cry. "Come along, we'll get you to the hospital wing..."

"No," said Dumbledore sharply.

"Dumbledore, he ought to - look at him - he's been through enough tonight -"

"He will stay, Minerva, because he and Lyra need to understand," said Dumbledore curtly. "Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery, They need to know who has put them through the ordeal they have suffered tonight, and why."

"Moody?" I choked, my mind completely consumed by a whirl of thought and confusion. "How can it have been Moody?"

"This is not Alastor Moody," said Dumbledore quietly. "You have never known Alastor Moody. The real Moody would not have removed Harry from my sight after what happened tonight, nor would he have allowed you to go off on your own, Lyra. The moment he took your brother, I knew - and I followed."

Dumbledore bent down over Moody's limp form and put a hand inside his robes. He pulled out Moody's hip flask and a set of keys on a ring. Then he turned to Professors McGonagall and Snape.

"Severus, please fetch me the strongest Truth Potion you possess, and then go down to the kitchens and bring up the house-elf called Winky. Minerva, kindly go down to Hagrid's house, where you will find a large black dog sitting in the pumpkin patch. Take the dog up to my office, tell him I will be with him shortly, then come back here."

If either Snape or McGonagall found these instructions peculiar, they hid their confusion. Both turned at once and left the office. As Dumbledore walked over to a trunk with seven locks on it, I walked into the office to stand beside Harry. He surprised me by grabbing my hand in his, and I smiled weakly at him, grateful for the small comfort.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore had fitted the first key into it's lock, and opened it. It contained a mass of spellbooks. Dumbledore closed the trunk, placed a second key in the second lock, and opened the trunk again. The spellbooks had vanished; this time it was an assortment of broken Sneakoscopes, some parchment and quills, and what looked like a silvery Invisibility Cloak. Harry and I both watched, astounded, as Dumbledore placed the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth keys in their respective locks, reopening the trunk each time, and revealing different contents each time as well. Then he placed the seventh key in the lock, threw open the lid, and Harry let out a cry of amazement, while I stared with wide eyes.

We were looking down into a kind of pit, an underground room, and laying on the floor some ten feet below, apparently fast asleep, thin and starved in appearance, was the real Mad-Eye Moody. His wooden leg was gone, the socket that should have held the magical eye looked empty beneath it's lid, and chunks of his grizzled hair were missing. Harry stared, thunderstruck between the sleeping Moody in the trunk, and the unconscious Moody lying on the floor of the office. I had the sudden violent urge to kick the unconscious Moody in the face as hard as I could.

Dumbledore, meanwhile, climbed into the trunk, lowered himself, and fell lightly to the floor beside the sleeping Moody He bent over him.

"Stunned - controlled by the Imperius Curse - very weak," he said, "Of course, they would have needed to keep him alive. Harry, throw down the impostor's cloak - he's freezing. Madame Pomfrey will need to see him, but he needs no immediate attention."

As Harry did as he was asked releasing my hand for a brief moment, I felt myself turn my own house color.

Madame Pomfrey.

Theo had stunned her so that I could get back down to the stands. The guilt that I hadn't had time for before was suddenly making itself _very_ known. The poor old mediwitch never did anything but try and help people, and what had we done? Attacked her. Not only was that definitely going to get us in trouble in the long run, but I had the feeling she wasn't going to be so understanding towards my friends and I from now on. And she was strict enough as it was.

Sometime during my mental dithering, Dumbledore had covered Moody, and clambered out of the trunk. By the time I tuned back into reality, he was inspecting the hip flask that he'd placed on the desk. He unscrewed it, and turned it over, allowing a thick glutinous liquid to splatter onto the stone floor.

"Polyjuice Potion," said Dumbledore. "You see the simplicity of it, and the brilliance. For Moody never _does_ drink except from his hip flask, he's well known for it. The impostor needed, of course, to keep the real Moody close by so that he could continue to make the potion. You see his hair..."

Dumbledore looked down on the Moody in the trunk "The impostor has been cutting it off all year, see where it is uneven? But I think, in the excitement of tonight, our fake Moody might have forgotten to take it as frequently as he should have done... On the hour...every hour... We shall see."

Dumbledore pulled out the chair at the desk and sat down upon it, his eyes fixed upon the unconscious Moody. Harry and I stared at him too. As the minutes passed silently and tension and apprehension mounted, Harry's grip on my hand tightened. I wasn't quite sure when, but he and I had both sat down, my legs were grateful for the rest, as my adrenaline had worn of entirely and my exhaustion was making itself well known.

Then, before all of our eyes, the face of the man on the floor began to change. The scars were disappearing, the skin was becoming smooth; the mangled nose became whole again and started to shrink. The mane of grizzled grey hair was withdrawing into the scalp and turning the color of straw. Suddenly, with a loud _thunk_, the wooden leg fell away and a normal leg regrew in it's place; next moment, the magical eyeball had popped out of the man's face as a real eye replaced it; it rolled away across the floor and continued to swivel in every direction.

There was now still a man laying before us, now pale skinned, slightly freckled, with a mop of fair hair. I had no idea who this man was, but by the looks on both Dumbledore and Harry's faces, they did.

There were hurried footsteps outside in the corridor. Snape had returned with Winky at his heels. Professor McGonagall was right behind him.

"Crouch!" Snape said, stopping dead in the doorway. "Barty Crouch!"

"Good heavens," said professor McGonagall, stopping dead and staring down at the man on the floor.

I frowned in total confusion. "But, isn't Mr Crouch-"

Harry nudged me, catching my attention. "This is his son, Barty Crouch Junior."

"But, but how do _you_ know th-"

I was interrupted again by a piercing shriek. Dirty and disheveled, Winky had peered around Snape's legs, and was now flinging herself onto the young man's chest. "Master Barty, Master Barty, what is you doing here?"

When he gave no answer, and she saw he was unconscious, she gave another scream. "You is killed him! You is killed him! You is killed Master's son!"

"He is simply Stunned, Winky," said Dumbledore. "Step aside, please. Severus, you have the potion?"

Snape handed him a small glass bottle of completely clear liquid, one that I recognized as Veritaserum, which we'd learned about briefly in class. Dumbledore got up, bent over the man on the floor, and pulled him into a sitting position against the wall of the office. Winky remained on her knees, trembling, her hands over her face. Dumbledore forced the man's mouth open and poured three drops inside it, then he pointed his wand at the man's chest and said, _"Ennervate."_

Crouch's son opened his eyes. His face was slack, his gaze unfocused. Dumbledore knelt before him, so that their faces were level.

"Can you hear me?" Dumbledore asked quietly.

The man's eyelids flickered.

"Yes," he muttered..

"I would like you to tell us," said Dumbledore softly, "how you came to be here. How did you escape Azkaban?"

Crouch took a deep, shuddering breath, then began to speak in a flat, expressionless voice.

"My mother saved me. She knew she was dying. She persuaded my father to rescue me as a last favor to her. He loved her as he had never loved me. He agreed. They came to visit me. They gave me a draft of Polyjuice Potion containing one of my mother's hairs. She took a draft of Polyjuice potion containing one of my hairs."

Winky was shaking her head, trembling.

"Say no more, Master Barty, say no more, you is getting your father into trouble!"

But Crouch took another deep breath and continued in the same flat voice.

"The dementors are blind. They sensed one healthy, one dying person entering Azkaban. They sensed one healthy, one dying person leaving it. My father smuggled me out, disguised as my mother, in case any prisoners were watching through their doors. My mother died a short while afterword in Azkaban. She was careful to drink Polyjuice Potion until the end. She was buried under my name and bearing my appearance. Everyone believed her to be me."

The man's eyelids flickered.

"And what did your father do with you, when he had got you home?" said Dumbledore quietly.

"Staged my mother's death. A quiet, private funeral. That grave is empty. The house-elf nursed me back to health. Then I had to be concealed. I had to be controlled. My father had to use a number of spells to subdue me. When I had regained my strength, I thought only of finding my master...of returning to his service."

"How did your father subdue you?" said Dumbledore.

"The Imperius Curse," Crouch said. "I was under my father's control. I was forced to wear an invisibility cloak both day and night. I was always with the house-elf. She was my keeper and my caretaker. She pitied me. She persuaded my father to give me occasional treats. Rewards for my good behavior."

"Master Barty, Master Barty," sobbed Winky through her hands. "You isn't ought to tell them, we is getting in trouble..."

"Did anyone ever discover that you were still alive?" said Dumbledore softly. "Did anyone know other than your father and the house-elf?"

"Yes," said Crouch, his eyelids flickering again. "A witch in my father's office. Bertha Jorkins. She came to the house with papers fro my father's signature. He was not home. Winky showed her inside and returned to the kitchen, to me. But Bertha Jorkins heard Winky talking to me. She came to investigate. She heard enough to guess who was under the invisibility cloak. My father arrived home. She confronted him. He put a very powerful Memory Charm on her to make her forget what she'd found out. Too powerful. He said it damaged her memory permanently."

"Why is she coming to nose in my master's private business?" sobbed Winky. "Why isn't she leaving us be?"

"Tell me about the Quidditch World Cup," said Dumbledore.

"Winky talked my father into it," said Crouch, still in the same monotone voice. "She spent months persuading him. I had not left the house in years. I had loved Quidditch. Let him go, she said. He will be in his invisibility cloak. He can watch. Let him smell the fresh air for once. She said my mother would have wanted it. She told my father that my mother had died to give me freedom. She had not saved me for a life of imprisonment. He agreed in the end.

"it was carefully planned. My father led me and Winky up to the Top Box early in the day. Winky was t say that she was saving a seat for my father, I was to sit there, invisible. When everyone had left the box, we would emerge. Winky would appear to be alone. Nobody would ever know.

"But what Winky did not know was that I was growing stronger. I was starting to fight my father's Imperius Curse. There were times when I was almost myself again. There were brief periods when I seemed outside of his control. It happened there, in the Top Box. It was like waking from a deep sleep. I found myself out in public, in the middle of the match, and I saw, in front of my, a wand sticking out of a boy's pocket. I had not been allowed a wand since before Azkaban. I stole it. Winky didn't know. Winky is frightened of heights. She had her face hidden."

"Master Barty, you bad boy!" whispered Winky, tears trickling between her fingers.

"So you took the wand," said Dumbledore. "and what did you do with it?"

"We went back to the tent," said Crouch. "Then we heard them. We heard the Death Eaters. The ones who had never been to Azkaban. The ones who had never suffered for my master. They had turned their backs on him. They were not enslaved as I was. They were free to seek him, but they did not. They were merely making sport of Muggles. The sound of their voices woke me. My mind was clearer than it had been in years. I was angry, I had the wand. I wanted to attack them for their disloyalty to my master. My father had left the tent; he had gone to free the Muggles. Winky was afraid to see me so angry. She used her own brand of magic to bind me to her. She pulled me from the tent, pulled me into the forest, away from the Death Eaters. I tried to hold her back. I wanted to return to the campsite. I wanted to show those Death Eaters what loyalty to the Dark Lord meant, and to punish them for their lack of it. I used the stolen wand to cast the Dark Mark into the sky

"Ministry wizards arrived. They shot Stunning Spells everywhere. One of the spells come through the trees where Winky and I stood. The bond connecting us was broken. We were both Stunned.

"When Winky was discovered, my father knew I must be nearby. He searched the bushes where she had been found and felt me laying there. He waited until the other Ministry Members had left the forest. He put me back under the Imperius Curse and took me home. He dismissed Winky, she had failed him. She had let me acquire a wand. She had almost let me escape."

Winky let out a wail of despair.

"Now it was just father and I, alone in the house. And then...and then..." Crouch's head rolled on his neck, an insane grin spread across his face. "My master came for me.

"He arrived at our house late on night in the arms of his servant Wormtail. My master had found out that I was still alive. He had captured Bertha Jorkins in Albania. He had tortured her. She told him a great deal. She told him about the Triwizard Tournament. She told him the old Auror, Moody, was going to teach at Hogwarts. He tortured her until he broke through the Memory Charm my father had placed on her. She told him I had escaped Azkaban. She told him my father kept me imprisoned to prevent me from seeking my master. And so my master knew that I was still his faithful servant - perhaps the most faithful of all. My master conceived a plan, based upon the information Bertha had given him. He needed me. He arrived at our house near midnight. My father answered the door."

The smile spread wider over crouch's face, as though recalling the sweetest memory of his life. Winky's petrified brown eyes were visible through her fingers. She seemed to appalled to speak.

"It was very quick. My father was placed under the Imperius Curse by my master. Now my father was the one imprisoned, controlled. My master forced him to go about his business as usual, to act as though nothing was wrong. And I was released. I awoke. I was myself again, alive as I hadn't been in years."

"And what did Lord Voldemort ask you to do?" said Dumbledore.

"He asked wether I was ready to risk everything for him. I was ready. It was my dream, my greatest ambition, to serve him, to prove myself to him. He told me he had to place a faithful servant at Hogwarts. A servant that would guide one of the Potters through the Triwizard Tournament without appearing to do so. A servant who would watch over them. Ensure that they reached the Triwizard Cup. To turn the cup into a Portkey, which would take the first person to touch it to my master. But first -"

"You needed Alastor Moody." said Dumbledore. His blue eyes were blazing, although his voice remained calm.

"Wormtail and I did it. We prepared the Polyjuice Potion beforehand. We journeyed to his house. Moody put up a struggle. There was a commotion. We managed to subdue him just in time. Forced him into one of the compartments of his own magical trunk. Took some of his hair and added it to the potion. I drank it; I became Moody's double. I took his leg and his eye. I was ready to face Arthur Weasley when he arrived to sort out the Muggles who had heard the disturbance. I made the dustbins move around the yard. I told Arthur Weasley that I had heard intruders in my yard, who had set off the dustbins. Then I packed up Moody's cloths and dark detectors. I kept him alive, under the Imperius Curse. I wanted to be able to question him. To find out about his past, learn his habits. So that I could fool even Dumbledore. I also needed his hair to make the Polyjuice Potion. The other ingredients were very easy. I stole boomslang skin from the dungeons. When the Potions master found me in his office, I said I was under orders to search it."

"And what became of Wormtail after you attacked Moody?" said Dumbledore.

"Wormtail returned to care for my master, in my father's house, and to keep watch over my father."

"But your father escaped." said Dumbledore.

"Yes. After a while he began to fight the Imperius Curse, just as I had done. There were periods when he knew what was happening. My master decided it was no longer safe for my father to leave the house. He forced him to stay home and send messages to the Ministry instead. He made him write and say he was ill. But Wormtail neglected his duty. He was not watchful enough. My father escaped. My master guessed that he was heading for Hogwarts. My father was going to tell Dumbledore everything, to confess. He was going to admit that he had smuggled me out of Azkaban. My master sent word of my father's escape. He told me to stop him at all costs. So I waited and watched. I used the map I had taken from Harry Potter. The map that had almost ruined everything."

"Map?" said Dumbledore quickly/ "What map is this?"

"Potter's map of Hogwarts. Harry Potter saw me on it. Potter saw me stealing ingredients for the Polyjuice potion from Snape's office one night. He thought I was my father. We have the same first name. I took the map from Potter that night. I told him my father hated Dark wizards. Potter thought my father was after Snape.

"For a week I waited for my father to arrive at Hogwarts. At last, one evening, the map showed my father entering the grounds. I pulled on my invisibility cloak and went to meet him. He was walking around the edge of the forest. Then the Potters came, and Krum. I waited. I couldn't hurt them; my master needed them. Harry Potter ran to get Dumbledore. I took the chance and stunned Lyra Potter and Krum. I killed my father."

_"__Noooo!"_ wailed Winky. "Master Barty, Master Barty, what is you saying?"

"You killed your father," Dumbledore said in that same soft voice. "What did you do with the body?"

"Carried it into the forest. Covered it with the invisibility cloak. I had the map with me. I watch Harry Potter run into the castle. He met Snape. Dumbledore joined them. I watched Potter bringing Dumbledore out of the castle. I walked back out of the forest, doubled around behind them, went to meet them. I told Dumbledore that Snape had told me where to come.

"Dumbledore told me to go and look for my father. I went back to my father's body. When everyone was gone, I transfigured my father's body. He became a bone... I buried him while wearing the invisibility cloak, in the freshly dug earth in front of Hagrid's cabin."

There was complete silence now, except for Winky's continued sobs. Then Dumbledore said, "And tonight..."

"I offered to carry the Triwizard Cup into the maze before dinner," whispered Barty Crouch. "Turned it into a Portkey. My master's plan worked. He is returned to power and I will be honored by him beyond the dreams of wizards."

The insane smile lit his features once more, and his head drooped onto his shoulders as Winky wailed and sobbed at his side.

Dumbledore stood up. He stared down at Barty Crouch for a moment with disgust on his face. Then he raised his wand once more and ropes flew out of it, tightly binding Crouch. He then turned to Professor McGonagall.

"Minerva, could I trust you to stand guard here while I take Harry and Lyra upstairs?"

"Of course." said Professor McGonagall. She looked slightly nauseous, as though she had just watched someone being sick. However, when she drew her wand and pointed it at Barty Crouch, her hand was as steady as it ever was in class.

"Severus" - Dumbledore turned to Snape - "please tell Madame Pomfrey to come down here; we need to get Alastor Moody into the Hospital Wing. Then go down to the grounds, find Cornelius Fudge, and bring him up to this office. He will undoubtably want to question Crouch himself. Tell him I will be in the Hospital Wing in a half an hour's time if he needs me."

Snape nodded silently and swept out of the room.

"Harry, Lyra?" Dumbledore said gently.

We both got up, and I felt Harry sway; his face was grimaced in pain, and I saw him lean heavily on his uninjured leg. He and I both also seemed to be shaking. Ignoring the tiredness that had seeped into my bones, I took one of Harry's arms across my shoulders and helped him out into the dark corridor.

"I want you two to come up to my office first." Dumbledore said quietly as he lead us up the passageway. "Sirius is waiting for us there."

I nodded. I was vaguely aware of a kind of numbness and a sense of complete unreality settling over me. I was almost glad of it. I didn't want to have to actually think of any of the goings-on that had happened since Harry had entered that maze tonight. I didn't want to have to examine the memories of my horrible vision, or the memories of the events that I had just witnessed, not even those of my horrified and frightened friends, fresh and sharp as photographs in my mind. Mad-Eye Moody, inside the trunk. Wormtail, slumped on the ground, cradling his stump of an arm. Voldemort. Harry appearing in a flash of light, clutching the dead body of a fellow student.

"Professor," Harry mumbled. "where are Mr. And Mrs. Diggory?"

"They are with Professor Sprout," said Dumbledore. His voice, which had remained calm through the whole interrogation of Barty Crouch, shook very slightly for the first time. "She was Head of Cedric's house, and knew him best."

We had reached the gargoyle. Dumbledore gave the password, it sprang aside, and the three of us went up the moving spiral staircase to the oak door. Dumbledore pushed it open. Sirius was standing there. His face was as white and as gaunt as it had been when he had escaped Azkaban. In one swift movement, he had crossed the room.

"Harry, Lyra, are you two alright? I knew it - I knew something like this - what happened?"

His hands shook as he took Harry and helped him into a chair in front of the desk.

"What happened?" he asked more urgently.

When he sat down, Dumbledore began to tell Sirius everything Barty Crouch had said. I was only half listening. I sat down on the floor beside Harry's chair. I was so tired. My throat still burned with raw flesh. I wanted nothing more than to sit here, with Harry, undisturbed, for hours and hours, until I fell asleep and didn't have to think or feel anymore.

There was a soft rush of wings, and I looked up. Dumbledore's phoenix had left his perch, and landed on Harry's knee.

"'Lo, Fawkes," said my brother quietly. He stroked the phoenix's beautiful scarlet-and-gold plumage. Fawkes blinked peacefully up at him. The presence of such a pure creature was reassuring.

Dimly, I realized that Dumbledore had stopped talking. Looking up, I realized that he had sat down opposite Harry and I, behind his desk. He was looking directly at Harry, who was avoiding his eyes. Dumbledore was going to question us. He was going to make us relive everything.

"I need to know what happened after you touched the Portkey in the maze, Harry." said the old wizard.

"We can leave that till morning can't we, Dumbledore?" said Sirius harshly. His face was incredulous. "Let them both have some sleep. Let them rest."

I felt a rush of gratitude toward Sirius, but Dumbledore took no notice of Sirius's words. He leaned forward towards my brother and I. Very unwillingly, Harry raised his head and looked into the blue eyes of our headmaster.

"If I thought I could help you, or Lyra" Dumbledore said gently, "by putting you into an enchanted sleep-"

"No!" I suddenly found myself standing, my heart pounding, and feeling dizzy from standing too quickly. I looked at Dumbledore with wide eyes, fear thrumming in my chest.

"Please," I begged, my voice sounding tiny. "please don't make me go back to sleep. I can't take anymore nightmares. _Please._"

I didn't realize that I was shaking until I felt Sirius wrap his arms around my shoulders. Looking up at him, I saw that his expression was soft, and pitying. I couldn't even bring myself to be offended, at the moment I was not the strong girl prided myself on being.

I turned into his hug, my hands gripping the ragged shirt he wore as I buried my face into his chest.

"Please." I begged, my voice now muffled by his shirt.

"Lyra, I wouldn't even if you asked me to." Dumbledore said softly. "As I was saying, if I could do it and allow you to postpone the moment that the pair of you would have to think about what has happened tonight, I would do it. But I know better. Numbing the pain for a while will only make it worse when you finally feel it. Harry, you have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of you. I ask you to demonstrate your courage one more time. I ask you to tell us what happened."

The phoenix let out one soft, quavering note. It shivered in the air, and I felt as though a drop of warm liquid had slipped down my throat into my stomach, warming me, strengthening me. I stopped shivering in Sirius's arms. I morphed, and Sirius held me as he sat back down, letting his warm hand rest on my furred back as Harry took a deep breath and began to speak.

As he spoke, visions of what I had seen of his experience rose before my eyes: Cedric's dead body, Voldemort's red eyes, the Death Eaters apparating between the graves.

Once or twice, Sirius made a noise as though about to say something, his hand tense against my back, but Dumbledore raised his hand to stop him.

When Harry spoke of Wormtail piercing his arm with a dagger, however, Sirius let out a vehement exclamation and Dumbledore stood up so quickly that I gave a start. Dumbledore walked around the desk and told Harry to stretch out his arm. Harry showed us the place in the crook of his arm where his robes were torn and the cut that was beneath them.

"He said mine or Lyra's blood would make him stronger than if he'd used someone else's." Harry told Dumbledore. "He said the protection our - our mother left in us - he'd have it too. And he was right - he could touch me without hurting himself, he touched my face."

For a fleeting instant, I though I saw a gleam of something like triumph in Dumbledore's eyes. But the next second, I was sure that I'd imagined it, for when Dumbledore had returned to his seat behind the desk, he looked as old and weary as I had ever seen him.

"Very well," he said, sitting down again. "Voldemort has overcome that particular barrier. Harry, continue, please."

Harry went on; he explained how Voldemort had emerged from the cauldron, and told us all that he could remember of Voldemort's speech to the Death Eaters.

I felt restless and jumped from Sirius's lap and morphed. Belatedly, I realized that I had interrupted Harry. Swallowing, I looked sheepishly at the floor. "Sorry, I'm just fidgety."

Harry swallowed, and continued onwards. I sat back in my place beside his chair. Harry went on to speak of how Voldemort had wanted to duel and thus, kill Harry. How he was untied and given his wand back. And then he spoke of something that had the hairs on my body standing on end.

He spoke of a golden beam of light connecting he and Voldemort's wands, and how the wands had vibrated, and created a barrier of sorts around the two. Harry's voice seemed to fail him here, and he went silent.

I sat in shocked silence, until Sirius broke the silence.

"Their wands connected?" he said, looking from Harry to Dumbledore. "Why?"

I looked up at Dumbledore again, on who's face there was an arrested look.

_"__Priori Incantatem,"_ he muttered.

His eyes gazed into my brother's, and something went between them that I didn't understand.

"The Reverse Spell effect?" said Sirius sharply.

"Exactly," said Dumbledore. "Harry's wand and Voldemort's wand share cores. Each of them contains a feather from the tail of a phoenix. _This _phoenix, in fact." he added, and pointed at the scarlet-and-gold bird, perching peacefully on Harry's knee.

"My wand's feather came from Fawkes?" Harry said, sounding amazed.

"Yes," said Dumbledore. "Mr. Ollivander wrote to tell me you had bought the second wand, the moment you left his shop four years ago."

"So what happens when a wand meets it's brother?" said Sirius.

"They will not work properly against one another." said Dumbledore. "If, however, the owners of the wands force the wands t do battle...a very rare effect will take place. One of the wands will force the other to regurgitate spells it has preformed - in reverse. The most recent first...and then those which preceded it..."

He looked interrogatively at Harry, and Harry nodded.

"Which means," said Dumbledore slowly, his eyes not leaving my brother's face. "that some form of Cedric Diggory must have reappeared."

Harry nodded again.

"Diggory came back to life?" said Sirius sharply.

"No spell can reawaken the dead." I said darkly, drawing the eyes of the three males in the room. I shut my eyes. "You can make inferi, but that's as close as you can really get. I researched it when I was younger. I wanted my parents back. I even snuck into my foster parents' locked up dark magic books. I didn't find anything. It can't be done.

Everyone was quiet for a moment before Dumbledore cleared his throat. "She's right. All that would have happened is a kind of reverse echo. A shadow of the living Cedric would have emerged from the wand...am I correct Harry?"

"He spoke to me." Harry said. "The...the ghost Cedric, or whatever he was, spoke."

"An echo," said Dumbledore, "which retained Cedric's appearance and character. I am guessing other such forms appeared... Less recent victims of Voldemort's wand..."

"An old man," Harry said, his voice tight, I opened my eyes and looked up at him. His face looked pained, he was shaking, and I could see his adams apple bobbing. "Bertha Jorkins. And..."

Oh gods... "Mum and Dad." I whispered.

"Yes," said Harry.

I stood and sat on the arm of his chair, wrapping an arm around his shoulders, and placing my forehead on the crown of his head, his hair tickled my nose but I didn't really pay much attention. I was just trying not to cry again.

"The last murders the wand performed." said Dumbledore. "In reverse order. More would have appeared, had you maintained the connection. Very well, Harry, these echoes, these shadows...what did they do?"

Harry described how the figured had emerged from the wand and prowled the edges of the golden web, how Voldemort seemed to fear them, how the shadow Cedric had made his final request, and how the shadow of our mother had told him what do do.

"She looked so much like Lyra, for a moment I was terrified that it _was_ Lyra." he murmured, reaching up his hand to grasp the one that I had resting on his shoulder.

I noticed at this point that Fawkes had left Harry's knee. The phoenix had fluttered down to the floor. It was resting it's beautiful head against Harry's injured leg, and thick, pearly tears were falling from it's eyes onto the wound on his leg. The skin mended, and the leg was repaired. I smiled gratefully at the creature.

"I will say it again," said Dumbledore as the phoenix rose into the air and rested itself upon the perch beside the door. "You have shown bravery beyond anything I could have expected of you. You have shouldered a grown wizard's burden, and found yourself equal to it."

"Thank you, professor." he murmured

The old wizard nodded, and then turned his blue-eyed, half-moon-spectacled gaze towards me. "Though I wish we could be finished with this dark talk, Lyra, I must ask a level of bravery of you as well. You came to me, speaking of Voldemort and his servants having captured your brother, before Harry had even returned to us. How was it you knew of this?"

I looked at the floor, silent for several moments before I spoke myself. I could feel everyone else in the room watching me.

"During the task, I was up in the stands with my friends. I had a bad feeling from the start, like I knew something bad was going to happen. Right after a flash of blue light at the center of the maze, which I guess was Harry grabbing the Portkey, my scar, and my head started to hurt really badly. I passed out. Everything was black, and I heard voices, and then I woke up in the Hospital Wing." I took a deep breath before continuing. "I realized that my friends had carried me there, but I needed to get back down to the stands. I knew that if my scar had burned badly enough to make me pass out, then Harry had to have felt it too. I got up to run back down and out of the castle, but halfway to the door, my scar and my head started hurting again. I lost my balance and fell, I think I hit my head.

"Even though I'd passed out, the next time I'd opened my eyes, I was in a different place. It was so real, that I swore that I could've been teleported. But it was another nightmare. Voldemort was standing in front of me, and my eyes were not my own. I think, no, I'm more than sure I was inside Harry's head."

"But how's that possible?" Sirius burst out.

Dumbledore sighed. "I believe, that as with their nightmares, Lyra's mind was attached to the energy of the scene. As her magic is synonymous with Harry's, her mind became attracted to, and thus bonded to his body as well."

"You mean she got sucked into my head because we're siblings?" Harry asked incredulously.

Dumbledore shook his head. "I couldn't say that the same thing would have occurred if you had merely been siblings. As twins, your magic took root within your bodies at the same time, before your mother gave birth to you. It would not surprise me if it meant that your powers were linked in some way. I would say the same of any set of magical siblings born at the same time. It explains many of the phenomena observed of such people; the others knowing when one of the set is in danger, the degree of pain that they are seen to have when one of them is lost, having similar if not identical personality types, the similar skill sets. But getting back to the point, Lyra seeing through your eyes could have just as easily been caused by the scars you both possess."

"Does it even matter?" I asked tiredly. "The point is that I was in Harry's head. I saw what was happening to him, I felt it happening."

"Of course." said Dumbledore soberly, no longer seeming to care about the novelty of magical twins. "Please, Lyra, continue."

I sighed. "I experienced everything Harry did from after Voldemort stepped out of the cauldron right up until Wormtail was cutting him free of the ropes. Then everything went black again, and it got really warm. I opened my eyes and saw Madame Pomfrey standing over me with a potion in her hands. My body felt exhausted, and my throat hurt like I'd been screaming for an hour. I knew I had to tell Dumbledore what had happened, so I tried to go down to the quidditch pitch. I tried telling my friends and Madame Pomfrey what was wrong, but she wouldn't believe me. She thought I'd just had a fit or something. She wouldn't let me leave the bed.

"One of my friends stunned her to make her let me go so that I could get to Dumbledore and warn him. We all ran back down to the castle grounds. We ran into Snape, and then when I finally was able to relay what had happened, there was a flash of light, and Harry was returned to us. Then that debacle with Crouch happened."

"I see." Dumbledore said gravely. "I'm sorry you had to witness that. I'm sorry that either of you did."

The old wizard stood and walked around his desk to where I sat. He extended a hand, and helped me to my feet. "You both will come with me to the Hospital Wing. I do not want you returning to your dormitories tonight. Sleeping potions and some sleep ought to do some good...Sirius, would you like to stay with them?"

Sirius nodded and stood up. He transformed into the great black dog and walked with Harry, Dumbledore, and I out of the office, accompanying us down a flight of stairs to the Hospital wing.


	48. In the wake of the storm

Just outside the doors to the Hospital wing, we ran into Sara, Draco, Blaise and Theodore. They were standing uncomfortably in the hallway, though they all looked relieved when they caught sight of me.

"Lyra, is everything alright now?" Sara asked, glancing at Harry.

I shook my head and gave her a sad smile. "Not everything, but for now, I should be."

Draco stepped forward and pulled me into a tight hug, murmuring I my ear. "Don't scare us like that again, alright?"

I returned his embrace. "Alright."

Something bumped against my leg, and I looked down to see Sirius nodding to where Dumbledore had already lead my brother into the Hospital wing. I noted that he seemed to be trying valiantly not to glare at Draco.

"I know." I said quietly, following his lead. "I'm coming."

When we entered the Hospital Wing, it was to see Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Ron, and Hermione all grouped around a very accosted looking Madame Pomfrey. They all seemed to be demanding to know where my brother was, and what had happened. The group all turned when Harry, Dumbledore, the black dog, and I entered. Mrs Weasley let out a kind of muffled scream.

"Harry! Oh Harry!"

She started to hurry towards him, but Dumbledore moved between them.

"Molly," he said, holding up a hand. "please listen to me for a moment. Harry and Lyra have been through a terrible ordeal tonight. They have both just had to relive it for me. What they need now is sleep, and peace, and quiet. If they would like you al to stay with them," he added, looking around at Ron, Hermione, Bill, Sara, and the Slytherins too, "you may do so. But I do not want you questioning them before they are ready to answer, and certainly not this evening."

Mrs Weasley nodded. She was very white, but she still questioned Dumbledore, glancing at me briefly. "Of course Albus, but I'm not sure I know what you mean of Lyra, she was in the stands with us the whole time."

"No she wasn't!" barked Draco, who looked furious all of a sudden. "She's been gone for nearly two hours! Are you telling me you didn't notice?"

The Weasley matriarch looked sternly at the blond. "I will not be spoken to like that, young man I-"

"Oh save it." he snapped.

"Molly," Dumbledore said quietly. "Leave them be."

Hesitantly, and still looking disapprovingly at my boyfriend, she nodded.

"Headmaster," said Madame Pomfrey, staring at the great black dog that was Sirius. "may I ask what - ?"

"This dog will be remaining with Harry and Lyra for a while," said Dumbledore simply. "I assure you, he is very well trained. Harry, Lyra - I will wait while you get into bed."

I felt grateful that Dumbledore had asked the others not to question my brother and I. It wasn't that I didn't want any of them there; but the thought of hearing Harry explain it all again, of explaining why I knew what had happened before he'd even returned, of reliving this terrible night for a second time, was more than I could stand.

"I will be back to see you as soon as I have met with Fudge," said Dumbledore. "I would like the two of you to remain here tomorrow until I have spoken to the school." and then he left.

As Madame Pomfrey lead Harry and I to two of the nearby beds, I noticed the real Moody lying motionless at the far end of the room. His wooden leg and his magical eye were lying on the bedside table.

"Is he okay?" Harry asked.

"He'll be fine." said Madame Pomfrey, handing him some pajamas and pulling the screens around him. She handed me a set too, and pulled my curtains closed as well.

I changed my cloths and opened the curtain between Harry's and mine before I sat down on the bed, pulling the blankets up over my legs. Harry had also pulled open the curtain, that way we could still see each other, and there was still a degree of privacy given by the unopened curtains.

I was grateful. I didn't want to be separated from him. Our friends all came around and settled into the chairs beside our beds. Sirius sat on the floor between us. Ron, Hermione, Theo, Draco, Blaise, and Sara all wore the same look of caution, as though my brother and I were mildly dangerous creatures.

"I'm alright." Harry said. "Just tired."

I nodded in agreement.

Mrs. Weasley's eyes filled with tears as she smoothed Harry's bedcovers unnecessarily. Madame Pomfrey, who had bustled off to her office,, returned holding two small bottles of purple potion that I recognized as the Dreamless Sleeping potion.

"You'll need to drink all of this." she said. "It's a potion for dreamless sleep."

Harry took the potion without complaint, and drank only a few mouthfuls before the potent combination of his exhaustion and the potion overtook him. His head hit the pillow, and Hermione caught the bottle before he could spill any of it. Madame Pomfrey offered the other bottle to me, and while I took it, I set it on the bedside table.

"I can't." I murmured to her. "I know it wont let me dream, but I can't. I'm too afraid of my nightmares at the moment. I'll take it in a little while after I've calmed down a bit."

She said nothing, only looked at me with understanding and pity. She and my friends had all been witness to my unconscious reactions to my nightmares, so I guessed that she understood why there was a fear of sleeping present.

After she had gone back to her office, I got up from my bed, and crossed the short distance to Harry. Sighing tiredly, I removed his glasses as gently as I could, and folded them before setting them at his bedside before returning to my own bed.

Everyone was quiet, and I stared at my hands for several moments before looking up at where Theo sat beside his girlfriend. I didn't want to talk about it, but I needed to tell him what I knew. He and Draco.

I took a deep breath through my nose before speaking. "Theo?"

He looked up at me, as did everyone else. "What is it?"

I looked around uncomfortable at all the uninvolved people here. It didn't matter. I _had_ to tell him. "Theo, I know this isn't the place to talk about it, but... Theo, you _cannot_ go home at the end of the term. You just - you can't."

He frowned. "Lyra what's -"

I shook my head. "You just can't. Not considering your father. Not with what's happened tonight."

The dark haired boy paled as comprehension dawned on his face. Hermione was looking between he and I with a very serious expression.

"Theo what's she talking about?" The boy wouldn't give her an answer, and only looked away in shame. Her expression became slightly frantic. "What's wrong? What's Lyra talking about?"

There was a heavy silence, and then the most unexpected person dropped the bomb. Draco sighed heavily, drawing the attention of the group as he ran his fingers though his platinum hair. "What she's talking about Granger, is that if Theodore goes home now, then his father will murder him the second that they're alone. Before it was just conjecture, but like Lyra said, after what happened tonight, it's a certainty."

Everyone except we Slytherins froze in horror. Blaise looked dejectedly at the blankets of my bed, Draco was rubbing at his forehead, and Theo was still refusing to look at Hermione.

Hermione was the first to regain her senses. Her brown eyes filled with tears threatening to spill over, and she stared at Theo. "Wha- why would he- Theodore what's -?"

The boy's expression grew very bitter as he finally spoke. "My father is a Death Eater. I am a blood traitor. The math isn't exactly difficult."

Mrs Weasley surprised everyone by speaking in horror. "But why would tonight be reason for your own father to - to -?"

She couldn't seem to finish her sentence, but everyone knew what she meant. But Sirius and my friends were the only ones aside from Harry and I who knew the answer. Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I whispered it. I couldn't bring myself to be any louder. It seemed that if I said it louder than the world would finally shatter this time.

"Voldemort." I murmured, shutting my eyes against my own tears. "He returned tonight."

Mrs Weasley looked as though she would faint, and Bill looked petrified. Ron and Hermione stared at me in shock. Sara looked like she might cry after having to hear it again. Draco, Blaise, and Theo all looked furious, at what though, was anyone's guess.

I felt my bed dip, and I opened my eyes to see that Sirius had lept up onto the mattress, staring at me with his grey eyes. He whined and laid his head on my leg. I smiled, grateful that he was here.

We all sat quietly for several more minutes after that, but no one seemed to want to speak after that. What could anyone say? Dumbledore had said not to question us about what had happened, but even if he hadn't I got the feeling that no one would have been able to say anything anyway.

The silence was finally broken when a yawn escaped my throat. Draco sighed quietly, and looked up at me, his mercury eyes soft. "Lyra you should sleep." he said quietly. "You've been through enough for one night."

I couldn't argue with him. Swallowing past the lump that had again formed in my throat, I grabbed the potion from my bedside, and gulped all of it down before it's swift effects caused my head to fall to my pillows, and my mind slip off to silent, calm darkness.

* * *

><p>When I woke up in the morning, I blinked sleepily around the mostly empty Hospital Wing. Harry and I seemed to be the only people there. Groaning a bit, I sat up.<p>

Harry, who was awake, looked over. "You're up."

I nodded, looking around at the floor, my eyes searching for black fur. I frowned when I didn't find any. "Where's Sirius?"

Harry reached and grabbed a folded scrap of paper off his bedside table. "He left last night, while you were asleep. He asked me to give you this."

My frown deepened as I took the paper from him. "Why did he have to leave?"

Harry sighed heavily. "Dumbledore asked him to go do something. Fudge doesn't believe that Voldemort's back, so I think Dumbledore's old allies are going to stand up against Voldemort instead of the ministry. Or at least, that's the gist of what I understood. Sirius's note might explain more."

I nodded dully, and unfolded the scrap of paper.

_Lyra,_

_I'm sorry that I had to leave without giving you a proper goodbye. You were still asleep, and there was no time to waste. The ministry is continuing to ignore the obvious, and we of the old crowd can no longer afford to lay down and accept this. I'm off to gather up the old allies, but I promise that I will see you and Harry again soon._

_I want you to stay safe during the summer holiday. Don't go anywhere in the magical community, and certainly don't go alone._

_I'm sorry that the three of us are being separated again, but I love you and Harry both, and am going to do my best to protect you. Voldemort won't get near you again if I have any say so._

_Once again, I love you and Harry very much. I'll owl you, I swear._

_Until we meet again, your godfather, _

_Sirius Orion Black_

Sighing, I set the letter down. "At least someone is doing something."

Harry nodded bleakly, and we sat there in silence until I decided to lay back down and try to go back to sleep. I think I had hoped that if I did, when I woke up again, this would have all just been another nightmare.


	49. Please don't say you love me

When I looked back, even a month later, I found that I only had scattered memories of the next few days. It was as though I'd been through too much to take in anymore. I could only imagine how my brother must have felt.

I remembered returning to the Slytherin Dungeons the following evening. From what Draco, Blaise, and Theo told me, Dumbledore had spoken to the school that morning at breakfast. He had merely asked that they leave my brother and I alone, that nobody ask Harry questions or badger him about what had happened in the maze. I remember Harry and I sticking to each other like glue for the last week of school, and most people, I noticed, were skirting us in the corridors, avoiding our eyes. Some whispered behind their hands as we passed. I guessed that many of them believed what they'd read in Rita Skeeter's article about how we were disturbed and dangerous. Darkly I thought that maybe they were formulating their own theories about how Cedric Diggory had died. I found that I didn't care very much.

I liked it best when I was with Harry in the Gryffindor common room, or when I was in the library alcove with my Slytherin friends or Sara, when we were talking about other things, or else when they let me sit quietly as Draco and Blaise took turns playing chess with Theo. My cat, Nath, (who had been bold this year in simply roaming around the castle) often sat in my lap during those times, watching the chess pieces with rapt attention as they moved on their own. I felt that we had all come to an understanding that we didn't need to put into words; that we were all waiting for some sign, some word, of what was going on outside of Hogwarts - and that it was useless to speculate about what might be coming until we knew anything for certain. The only time we touched upon the subject was when Ron had come to speak with Theo and I about a meeting Mrs Weasley had had with Dumbledore before going home.

"She went to ask him if Harry and Lyra could come straight to us this summer," he said, "but he wants them both to go to the Dursleys, at least, at first. But, Nott - er - Theodore, mum also wanted to offer you a place to stay, since, well..."

Theo had accepted, looking stunned, though grateful.

Two days later, Dumbledore had sent me a note that I would indeed be accompanying Harry back to Privet Drive. He'd 'spoken' with my aunt and uncle, and they'd begrudgingly 'agreed' to let me into their home.

At the Leaving feast, when Dumbledore had made his speech to the school about Cedric, and about Voldemort's return, I had placed my forehead upon the Gryffindor table, and tried to ignore the sick feeling I had in my stomach.

* * *

><p>My trunk was packed; Nath was in his wicker cage on top of it, Zephyr was perched on my shoulder, and I was waiting beside Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the crowded entrance hall with the rest of the fourth year for the carriages that would take us back to the Hogsmeade station. It was another beautiful summer day. Harry complained about how Privet Drive would probably be hot and leafy, and the flower bed would be a riot of ugly colors by the time we arrived there tonight.<p>

"'Arry!"

We all looked to see Fleur Delacour hurrying up the stone steps into the castle. Beyond her, far across the grounds, I could see Hagrid helping Madame Maxime to back two of the gigantic horses into their harnesses. The Beauxbatons carriage was about to take off.

"We will see each uzzer again, I 'ope," said Fleur, extending a hand to my brother. "I am 'oping to get a job 'ere, to improve my Eenglish."

"It's very good already." said Ron in a strangles sort of voice. Fleur smiled at him; Hermione and I scowled. _Veela_.

"Good-bye, 'Arry," said Fleur, turning to go. "It 'az been a pleasure meeting you!"

"Wonder how the Durmstrang students are getting back," said Ron as he watched Fleur hurry back across the lawns, her silvery hair rippling in the sunlight. "D'you reckon they can steer that ship without Karkaroff?"

"Karkaroff did not steer," said a gruff voice. "He stayed in his cabin and let us do all the vork."

Krum had come to say good-bye as well, it seemed.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me." I said with a smirk.

He nodded, then abruptly said to Harry, "I liked Diggory."

Harry's face grew somber again.

"He vos alvays polite to me. Alvays. Even thought I vos from Durmstrang - vith Karkaroff." Krum added, scowling.

"Have you got a new headmaster yet?" said Harry.

Krum shrugged. He held his hand out as Fleur had done, shook Harry's hand, then mine, and then Ron's. Ron looked as though he was suffering some painful internal struggle. Krum had already started walking away when Ron burst out, "Can I have your autograph?"

Krum, looking surprised but gratified, signed a fragment of parchment for Ron.

Not long after, Theo appeared, asking me to join the boys in their carriage to the station, and giving Hermione a brief kiss before we left.

* * *

><p>The weather could not have been different on the journey back to King's Cross than it had been on the way to Hogwarts the previous September. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Draco, Blaise, Theo, and I had managed to get a compartment to ourselves. Archimedes and Camilla were both asleep with their heads tucked beneath their wings, Zephyr was flying somewhere outside the train, and Nath had taken up residence on Theo's lap.<p>

The boys were all talking about something that I didn't pay attention to, and it wasn't until the lunch trolly arrived that I began paying attention again, though the dark thoughts that had been rolling around in my dead remained there.

I'd denied anything from the trolly, saying I wasn't hungry, but Draco had scoffed and bought me a tuna salad sandwich on rye anyway before the trolly left to the next compartment. He'd handed it to me, saying that I could eat it later if I wanted.

I stared at the wrapped sandwich in my hands, as though it could answer my problems. But I got no wisdom from the object. It wasn't until Theo had said something that I realized I was crying.

"Lyra, what's wrong?" Draco asked, setting his food to the side.

I looked up at him and said what had been on my mind all day. All week really.

"This has to stop."

Draco frowned; Blaise suddenly looked very uncomfortable, and busied himself with his sandwich; Theo, who had finished his, stared at the floor as though it was very interesting, petting Nath quietly.

"Lyra, what're you talking abou-"

"You know very well what I'm talking about, Draco Malfoy." I said tiredly. He flinched at the sound of his last name. I took a deep breath, and set the sandwich down. "_This._ The four of us. You and I. _We_, need to stop. Before something bad happens."

"Lyra, it's fine, I can deal with my father, and Theo doesn't even have to deal with-"

"That's not the point." I snapped, suddenly very angry. "In order for you to survive what comes after you get off this train, you need to at least _fake_ supporting Voldemort. Your father was angry enough on his own about you going out with me. Now the monster who my brother and I nearly _destroyed_ has returned, and know that you, the son of one of his servants is not just supporting the enemy, but dating-"

"So what? You want me to break up with you to save my own skin?" Draco asked, furious. "I'm not a coward Lyra, I-"

"What you _are_ is an idiot!" I roared, suddenly finding myself standing. "I heard your father tell Voldemort he would make you 'see the error of your ways'. Voldemort _hates_ me and my brother. If you go home, without breaking things off with me, you could get yourself killed. One of your best friends _will_ be killed if he goes home!"

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Theo wince as he was brought up. Blaise too, had suddenly found the train's floor very interesting.

Draco stood, towering over me. "Lyra I said it before I'm not a coward! I'm not going to back down just because -"

"Quit acting like a bloody Gryffindor!" I shouted. "This is the worst possible opportunity for you to try and act noble! You'll only succeed in getting yourself killed! Are you actually going to put your friends through that? Your mother? Me? I couldn't stand it if any of you got hurt, I couldn't handle it if I never saw you alive again."

My voice had gotten progressively quieter as I ranted. By the time I stopped, my voice was straining, and tears had begun brimming in my eyes.

Draco's own anger melted from his face, and his molten grey eyes became gentle. He gripped the tops of my arms gently. "Lyra, I know that. But I can take care of myself. But asking me to give you up. It's just not something I can do. Lyra I - Lyra, I love you."

"Don't say that, Draco, you - you can't." I whispered, tears escaping from the corners of my eyes.

I pulled away from Draco's grasp, and sat back down. Draco, who looked upset about his words not having the effect he had probably expected, said it again, cutting into my heart.

"But I do."

I shut my eyes, willing myself not to start crying. "Then stop." I whispered brokenly.

Draco sat down with a dazed look on his face, his expression becoming more and more upset by the second.

There was a long silence then. The train thundered down the tracks, three compartments away laughter was pouring from the mouths of our fellow students. But our compartment was silent. None of us spoke.

And then I broke the silence. I stood and flicked my wand at the luggage rack. Two trunks and a wicker cat cage lifted themselves into the air.

"Come on Theo, we can't stay here."

The black haired Slytherin stood up silently, scooping my cat into his arms. He slid open the compartment door, and I followed him, as did the luggage. But I couldn't keep myself from stopping in the doorway. I couldn't stop myself from turning around to look at the two boys still seated.

Blaise was still staring at the floor. Draco's head was now in his hands. Beside him, his lunch lay forgotten. Across from him, mine remained untouched.

"Blaise?" the italian wizard looked up. "I'll see you around."

He gave me a weak smile. "Not if I see you first."

I nodded to him, then looked at the boy my heart was breaking for. "Draco?

When he lifted his head to look at me, there were already tears staining his face. It was that that provoked my own tears to spill over finally.

I didn't smile at him, didn't allow myself that.

"I love you, I'm sorry."

And then I forced myself to shut the compartment door.


	50. Make it work

**WOOO! Chapter 50! Thank you to those of you who have stuck with me for this long, and I apologize for my hiatuses. **

**Again, for the foreseeable future, I still don't have internet, however, when I do update (courtesy of my grandmother's internet) you'll be getting multiple chapter updates like these last two!**

**Also, for those of you who hate me for how I ended the last chapter, have no fear, chapter 50 is here.**

* * *

><p>Just as the train was pulling into King's Cross station, an enchanted paper airplane zipped it's way into the compartment through the cracked door. To the bemusement of the Gryffindors in the compartment with Theo and I, it flattened itself out and floated down in front of me.<p>

I recognized the spell. It was similar to the one that Draco and Blaise used to pass notes in class when they got sat too far away from one another to actually talk.

Catching the note when it fell into my lap, I read the contents with a furrowed brow.

_Harp,_

_I am _**_not_**_giving up. I'm not a coward, and neither are you. It can be a secret. We're both smart enough to make it work. So let's __make it work__. _

_I love you._

_-Dragon_

Theo was the only one who understood the implication of the note. Thus, he was the only one who knew why I had suddenly broken down in tears for the second time today.


	51. Dementors again

The hottest day of the summer was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive. Cars that were usually gleaming stood dusty in their drives and lawns that were once emerald green lay parched and yellowing; the use of hoses had been banned due to drought. Deprived of their usual car-washing and lawn-mowing pursuits, the inhabitants of Privet Drive had retreated retreated into the shade of their cool houses, windows thrown open in the hope of tempting in a nonexistent breeze. It seemed that the only people who were left outdoors were my brother and I, as we laid on our backs in a flower bed outside number four.

We were both skinny, with that pinched, slightly unhealthy look of people who had grown a lot in a short apace of time. Over this past summer, my twin had grown taller than me, whereas before we had been the same height. Though I really didn't let it bother me.

What I did let bother me was that while the Dursleys had been forced to buy me new cloths to accommodate my new growth, Harry was still being forced to wear Dudley's hand-me-downs. His jeans were torn, his t-shirt baggy and faded, and the soles of his sneakers were peeling away from the uppers.

Really the only thing similar about our cloths was that they were dirty

And of course our appearance did nothing to endear him to the neighbors, who seemed to think that scruffiness ought to be punishable by law, but as we had hidden ourselves behind one of Aunt Petunia's large hydrangea bushes this evening, we were quite invisible to anyone who might be passing by. In fact, I was pretty sure the only way we would be spotted was if our detestful Uncle or Aunt stuck their heads out of the living room window and looked straight down into the flower bed.

On the whole, I thought Harry ought to be congratulated on his idea of us hiding here. We were not, perhaps, very comfortable lying on the hot, hard earth, but on the other hand, nobody was glaring at us, grinding their teeth so loudly that we couldn't hear the news, or shooting nasty questions at us, as had happened every time one of us had tried sitting down in the living room and watching the television with our Aunt and Uncle.

Almost as though my thoughts had fluttered through the open window, Vernon Dursley suddenly spoke. "Glad to see those two have stopped trying to butt in. Where are they anyway?"

"I don't know," said Aunt Petunia unconcernedly. "Not in the house."

Uncle Vernon grunted.

_"__Watching the news..."_ he said scathingly. "I'd like to know what they're really up to. As if normal teenagers care about what's on the news - Dudley hasn't got a clue what's going on, doubt he even knows who the Prime Minister is! Anyway, it's not as if anything about _their lot_ would be on _our_ news -"

"Vernon, _shh_!" said Aunt Petunia. "The window's open!"

"Oh - yes - sorry, dear..."

The Dursleys fell silent. I listened to a jingle about Fruit 'N Bran breakfast cereal while I watched Mrs. Figg, a batty old cat-lady who Harry went out of his way to avoid, especially since he had taken to asking my brother and I around for tea every time she saw us on the street. She was ambling down the street, muttering to herself. She had rounded the corner and vanished before Uncle Vernon's voice floated out the window again.

"Dudders out for tea?"

"At the Polkisses'," said Aunt Petunia fondly. "He's got so many little friends, he's so popular..."

I noticed that Harry was having difficulty repressing a snicker. I agreed whole heartedly. As I'd learned over the summer, the Dursleys were astonishingly stupid about their son, Dudley; they had swallowed all his dim-witted lies about having tea with different members of his gang every night of the summer holiday. Harry and I both knew perfectly well that our dear cousin Dudley hadn't been to tea anywhere; he and his gang spent every evening vandalizing the playground, smoking on street corners, and throwing stones at passing cars and children. Harry and I had seen them at it during our evening walks around Little Whinging; we had spent most of our holidays wandering the streets, scavenging newspapers from bins along the way.

The opening notes of the music that heralded the seven o'clock news reached my ears and my stomach turned over. I couldn't help but wonder if - after a month of waiting - that tonight might be tonight.

"Record numbers of stranded holiday-makers fill airports as the Spanish baggage-handlers' strike reaches it's second week -"

"Give 'em a lifelong siesta, I would," snarled Uncle Vernon over the end of the newscaster's sentence, but it didn't matter: Outside in the flower bed, my stomach unclenched. If anything had happened, it would have been the first item on the news; death and destruction were more important than holiday-makers.

Beside me, Harry let out a long, slow breath, staring up at the brilliant blue sky. Every day this summer had been the same: the tension, the expectation, the temporary relief, and then mounting tension again...and always, growing more insistent all the time, the question of _why_ nothing had happened yet.

We kept listening, just in case there was some small clue, not recognized for what it really was by the Muggles - an unexplained disappearance, perhaps, or some other strange accident...but the baggage-handlers' strike was followed by news on the drought in the southeast ("I hope he's listening next door!" bellowed Uncle Vernon, "with his sprinklers on at three in the morning!"); then a helicopter that had almost crashed in a field in Surrey, hen a famous actress's divorce from her famous husband "As if we're interested in their sordid affairs," sniffed Aunt Petunia, who had followed the case obsessively in every magazine she could lay her bony hands on).

I closed my eyes against the now blazing evening sky as the newsreader said, "And finally, Bungy the budgie has has found a novel way of keeping cool this summer. Bungy, who lives at the Five Feathers in Barnsley, as learned to water-ski! Mary Dorkins went to find out more..."

I opened my eyes again. If they had reached water-skiing budgerigars, there was nothing else worth hearing. I morphed, and moved aside as Harry rolled cautiously onto his stomach and raised himself up onto his knees and elbows so that he could crawl out from under the window.

Harry had moved about two inches when several things happened in very quick succession.

A loud, echoing _crack_ broke the sleepy silence; a cat streaked out from under a parked car and flew out of sight; a shriek, a bellowed oath, and the sound of breaking china came from the Dursleys' living room; and as though Harry and I had been waiting for this signal, I morphed just as Harry jumped to his feet, both of us drawing our wands. Unfortunately, before Harry could stand at his full height, the top of his head collided with the Dursleys' open window, and the resulting crash made Aunt Petunia scream even louder.

Harry staggered, and I tried to help him stand upright again while my eyes still scanned for the source of the noise. However, my search was cut short when I noticed that a set of large purple hands reaching through the window and closing tightly around my brother's throat.

_"__Put - them - away!"_ Uncle Vernon snarled at us quietly. _"Now! Before any one sees!"_

"Get off him!" I growled right back, trying to pull his hands from around Harry's neck as Harry himself gasped for air. As I tried to pry my uncle's sausage-like fingers off of by brother, Harry gasped like a fish and yet still held up his wand. Then, as his face was turning a nasty shade of purple, Vernon yelped and released Harry as though he had been given an electric shock - some invisible force had seemed to have surged through my brother, making him impossible to hold. Accidental magic.

Panting, my brother stumbled and nearly fell over the hydrangea bush. Gripping his arm tightly, I steadied him as he coughed to regain his breath. I stared around as he caught his breath. There was no sign of what had caused the loud cracking noise, but there were several faces peering through the various nearby windows.

I stuffed my wand back into the holster that I had hidden under my shirt and tried to look innocent. I could feel it chafing a bit, where the straps wound around my stomach and ribcage, but there was little help for it. I liked wearing shorts too much to wear jeans over a leg holster, and one on my arm would definitely be noticed. Putting it in my back pocket or waistband like Harry had a tendency to do, was unsafe, and it always felt like it would fall out without me noticing.

"Lovely evening!" shouted Uncle Vernon, waving at Mrs. Number Seven, who was glaring from behind her net of curtains. She looked creepy. "Did you hear that car backfire just now? Gave Petunia and I quite a turn!"

He continued to grin in a horrible, manic way until all the curious neighbors disappeared from their various windows, then the grin became a grimace or rage as he beckoned Harry and I back towards him. Harry moved a few steps closer, but I defiantly remained where I was.

"What the _devil_ do you mean by it?" asked Vernon in a croaky voice that trembled with fury.

"What do we mean by what?" Harry asked coldly as I continued to look around for whatever had made that cracking noise.

"Making a racket like a starting pistol right outside our -"

"We didn't make that noise." I said firmly, turning to glare at the man.

Aunt Petunia's thin, horsey face now appeared beside her husband's wide, purple one. She looked livid. Then again, she often looked that way when regarding me. The woman had made a point to let me know how she disapproved of basically everything I did. From my clothes to the way I ate, to the way I disappeared for hours at a time. And she also made a point to tell me at several, unending points over the summer, how very obvious it was that I was an _American_, despite the British lit that had filtered it's way into my voice. And don't even get her started on me being a 'Freak among Freaks' with my transformations into a filthy creature.

For the record, I had fantastic hygiene, and my animagus form reflected that with short clean claws, and a sleek clean coat of red fur. So there.

At the moment though, the old crone was livid. "Why were you two lurking under our window?"

"Yes - yes, good point, Petunia! _What were the pair of you doing under our window?_"

"Listening to the news." said Harry in a resigned noise.

Our aunt and uncle exchanged outraged looks.

"Listening to the news! _Again?_"

"Well, it changes every day, you see." I said slowly, as though talking to a set of imbeciles, which I essentially was.

"Don't you be clever with me, girl! I want to know what you're really up to - and don't either of you give me any more of this _listening to the news_ tosh! You know perfectly well that _your lot_..."

"Careful Vernon!" breathed Aunt Petunia, and Uncle Vernon lowered his voice so that we could barely hear him.

"...that _your lot _don't get on _our_ news!"

"That's _all_ you know." I sneered.

The Dursleys goggled at me for a few seconds, then Aunt Petunia said, "You're even more of a nasty little liar than your brother, girl. What are all those -" she too, lowered her voice so that I had to lip read her next word. "- _owls_ - doing if their not bringing you news?"

"Aha!" said Uncle Vernon in a triumphant whisper. "Get out of that one! As if we didn't know that you get news from those pestilential birds!"

I could tell, even if they couldn't, that telling the truth this time, cost Harry something. It hurt him to admit it, and it hurt me to hear it.

"The owls...aren't bringing us news," he said tonelessly.

"I don't believe it," said our aunt at once.

"No more do I," said our uncle forcefully.

I narrowed my eyes at them. "You wouldn't, would you? Morons."

I felt my temper rising, and in a rare show of maturity, I turned on my heel, walked around the hydrangea, across the front lawn, stepped over the garden wall, and was walking off up the street, all before they could so much as shout for me to come back.

I heard Harry jogging to catch up with me, and I managed to bring myself to feel guilty. I wasn't the only one who was going to pay for my snappish remarks. We'd both have to face them and pay the piper at some point. Though, considering that the Dursleys seemed to look for any excuse to be angry with us, our bacon was cooked the second they found us under that blasted window. But right now, Harry and I both had more to worry about.

"What do you think that sound was?" Harry asked lowly once he'd caught up with me.

I frowned. "What do _you_ think it was."

Harry rolled his eyes at my counter, but frowned and responded anyway. "It sounded like someone was Apparating or Disapparating. It was the same sound Dobby made when he vanished in second year."

I nodded grimly, my eyes scanning the mostly deserted street. "That's what I thought. But if it was, then that would mean that someone magical was nearby, since elves can't make themselves invisible. Plus, there's no reason for a house elf to be at Privet Drive. But what bothers me is why they wouldn't make contact. Too much has happened for us not to be on guard right now."

Harry nodded in silent agreement. We kept walking. I was hardly even aware of what rout we were taking. My brother and I had roamed these streets so often lately that our feet seemed to automatically take us to our favorite haunts. Every few steps, I caught myself looking over my shoulder. I felt almost sure that someone was watching us, but as my frustration reached a peak, my certainty slipped more and more.

Perhaps we were both wrong. Maybe we were so desperate for the smallest sign of contact from the world we belonged to, that we were simply over reacting to a perfectly normal sound. For all that we knew it could have been the sound of something breaking in a neighbor's house.

I felt a dull sinking sensation in my stomach and, before I knew it, the hopeless feeling that had been plaguing me all summer rolled over me once more...

Tomorrow morning, I would be awoken by Harry's alarm clock at five, so that one of us could be up to pay the owl that delivered the _Daily_ _Prophet_, though I continuously wondered if it was still worth it to take the bloody thing. These days, the most that either of us did on a given day was glance at the front page before tossing it aside. When those morons at the Ministry of Magic finally realized that Voldemort was back, it would be headline news, and that was the only news that either of us cared about.

If we were lucky, there would also be owls carrying letters from our various friends, though I noticed, much to Harry's chagrin, Theo and Hermione had lately taken to writing their letters together, both of them commenting and signing the bottom of the letter. Personally, I thought it was sweet, Harry thought it was annoying. Though, unfortunately, as close of friends as they were, none of our friend's letters had brought much news, as those hopes had been dashed early on in the summer.

_"__We can't say much about you-know-what obviously..." "We've been told not to say anything important in case out letters go astray..." "We're quite busy but I can't give you guys details here..." "There's a fair amount going on, we'll tell you everything when we see you..."_

Even my letters from Blaise, and by extension, my notes from Draco, held very little information.

_"__It would only upset you..." "I don't want you to do something rash..." "I'm sure you'll know more soon..." "I'm sorry I'm not more help..."_

But 'soon' wasn't soon enough, and I couldn't seem to get a straight answer out of any of them on _when_ we'd be seeing them. Hermione had once scribbled, _"I expect we'll be seeing you quite soon"_ inside our birthday card. But again, how soon as soon. As far as we could tell from the vague hints in their letters, Hermione, Sara, Theo, and Ron were all in the same place, presumably at Ron's parents' house. It was hard to think of them having fun at the Burrow when my brother and I were stuck here at Privet Drive. In fact, I had been so angry with them, I hadn't protested in the least when Harry had thrown the group given present of Honeydukes chocolates away unopened, though I think we both regretted this after having to eat the wilting salad that Aunt Petunia had provided for dinner that night.

However, the anger I felt towards that set of friends was nothing compared to the fear I felt for Blaise and Draco. From the little news they did let slip, I knew that Blaise's mother was being pressed to pick a side, and Theo's father was still looking for him. But worse was that Draco's situation with his father seemed to be worse than I'd estimated at the start of the summer. It terrified me to think of the state he might be in when I next saw him.

_Don't think about that,_ I told myself sternly for the hundredth time this summer. My nightmares were bad enough without letting my imagination run wild with the thought of Dragon in danger.

I followed Harry as he turned a corner onto Magnolia Crescent; halfway along we passed the narrow alleyway down the side of a garage where Harry told me he had first clapped eyes on our godfather. Sirius, at least, seemed to understand how Harry and I felt; admittedly his letters were just as empty of proper news as our friends', but at least they contained words of caution instead of tantalizing or hideous hints.

_"__I know this must be frustrating you both..." "Keep your nose clean and everything will be okay..." "Be careful and don't do anything rash..."_

Well, I thought, as we again turned a corner toward the darkening playground, we had (by and large) done as our godfather had asked; we had at least resisted strapping our school trunks to Harry's broomstick and set off for the Burrow by ourselves. In fact, I thought our behavior, mine in particular, had been very good considering how frustrated and angry I felt at being stuck with our loathsome aunt and uncle, reduced to hiding among Petunia's slowly dying begonias in the hopes of hearing some scrap of news relevant to us. But all the same, it was a little annoying to be told not to do anything rash by a man who spent twelve years in prison, broke out, tried to commit the murder he was already convicted of, then gone on the run with an equally condemned hippogriff...

Ahead of me, Harry vaulted over the locked park gate, while I merely morphed halfway over the gate and landed on the other side with far more grace than he had. The park was just as empty as the surrounding streets, and the grass just as parched. I followed Harry to the swings, where he sat in the only one that Dudley and his friends had not yet managed to destroy. I sat on the nearby rusty merry-go-round and watched him stare moodily at the ground.

I entirely understood how he felt. Tomorrow we would have to think of a new way of listening in on the news. In the meantime, we were both had nothing to look forward to other than a verbal lashing from the Dursleys when we got home, and another restless and disturbed night. Even when we escaped nightmares about Cedric, we both had unsettling dreams about long corridors that all finished in dead ends and locked doors. And worse things. I would dream about our parents, about Voldemort. My imagination would subconsciously run wild with the idea of what might happen to my friends and family. Often Harry and I would wake up to find our scars prickling uncomfortably, but neither of us were dull enough to think that our friends or Sirius would find that very interesting anymore... It wasn't exactly a puzzle anymore.

After a visit from Vernon's sister, Marge, when Harry and I had been forced to share a room, we had taken to simply sharing the room anyway. Apart from my school trunk, which was kept in the spare room, most of my personal effects, including my personal potioner equipment, was hidden and stored in Harry's bedroom anyway. We had a system where we would swap the bed for the floor every other day.

It was something that neither of us had discussed the reason for. But we both knew why we'd silently agreed to the situation. It gave us both a sense of security, knowing that we were close to one another. Perhaps one of us was not particularly happy sleeping on top of an old comforter spread out on the floor with a lumpy pillow, and wrapped in spare blankets, but we were together, and if something happened then we'd know instantly.

More than once, after a particularly horrible nightmare, shared or otherwise, one of us would give up and slip into the other's bed/pallet, seeking warmth and comfort.

I think that Harry was the first one to do it. I'd been on the floor, and was sort of awake, when Harry had thrown the bed's comforter over me, and crawled under it with me, burying his damp face into my shoulder, shivering for a while until finally dropping off into sleep again. I hadn't said anything. The first few times that that had happened, it had been uncomfortable in the morning, simply because it was odd sharing a sleeping place with someone, even if they were your sibling; but it had become normalized and ordinary ofter a few times. Usually we woke up back-to-back, or else facing one another, with my head tucked under his chin.

I'm not sure how long we sat there, Harry on the swing, and I on the old merry-go-round before the sounds of voices interrupted my musings causing us both to look up. The street lamps from the surrounding roads were casting a misty glow strong enough to silhouette a group of people making their way across the park. One of them was singing a loud crude song. The others were laughing. A soft ticking noise came from several racing bikes that they were wheeling along.

We both knew who those people were. The figure in front was unmistakably our vile cousin Dudley, wending his way home, accompanied by his faithful gang.

Since last summer, when our darling aunt had mandated a new, hardline diet that she forced us al to follow for her son's benefit, Dudley had lost fat, but gained muscle thanks to his new found 'talent' for boxing. His physique was no less vast than before, but it was now all harsh lines and angles. With the knowledge in mind that my twin brother had been Dudley's first punching bag, I didn't really think that him learning to punch harder and with more accuracy was any kind of cause for celebration.

Neither Harry, nor I were in any way shape or form afraid or even intimidated by him, but children in the neighborhood were all terrified of him - even more terrified then they were of "those Potter kids" who, they had all been warned, were hardened hooligans, one of whom attended St. Brutus's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Boys, while the other had only recently been released from the mental asylum that they'd grown up in, and was likewise attending a boarding school for future societal menaces.

I watched the dark figures crossing the grass and dryly wondered who they had been beating up tonight. _Look around_. I found myself mentally daring them, unconsciously morphing so that I was sitting in human form on the playground equipment. _Come on...look around...we're sitting here all alone...Come and have a go..._

If Dudley's friends saw Harry and I sitting here, they would make a beeline for us, and what would Dudley do then? He wouldn't want to lose face in front of his friends, but I also knew he'd be terrified of provoking my brother or I... It would be really funny to watch Dudley's dilemma; to taunt him, watch him, with him powerless to respond... And if any of the others (whom, I should mention, seemingly had no qualms about hitting girls) tried to so much as lay a hand on us, we were both ready. Harry and I both had our wands handy, let them try. I would have more than loved to vent some of my frustration on them. As well as get Harry some payback for their shared childhood.

But they did not turn around, they did not see us, they were almost at the railings. I mastered the impulse to call out to them... Seeking a fight was not a smart move... We couldn't use magic, and certainly not against a group of muggle boys.

Their voices died off; they were heading down Magnolia Road.

_There you go, Sirius._ I thought dryly. _Nothing rash. Kept our noses clean. Exactly the opposite of what you'd have done..._

Harry and I both got to our feet, though I morphed and stretched like a cat before trotting over to my brother. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon seemed to feel that whenever turned up was the right time to be home, and anytime after that was much too late. Already this summer, Vernon had threatened Harry and I that he was going to lock us in the shed if we came home after Dudley again. So, yawning, Harry still scowling, we set off towards the park gate.

When we got to it, Harry vaulted over it again, and after he was clear, I made a running leap and landed on the top rail, balancing precariously, as though on the balance beam ten feet behind me. Wobbling only a little on my four paws, I walked about three feet before looking smug, and jumped at Harry, who caught me in his arms.

He rolled his eyes at me as I crawled up to drape myself over his shoulders. "Show off."

I swished my bushy tail in his face. It was a normal practice, so he just leaned his head away from my tail and blew the fur out of his face.

Magnolia Road, like Privet Drive, was full of large, square houses with perfectly manicured lawns, all owned by large, square owners who drove very clean cars similar to Uncle Vernon's. Harry and I both had agreed that we liked Little Whinging better by night, when the curtained windows made patches of jewel-bright colors in the darkness and we ran no danger of hearing disapproving mutters about Harry's "delinquent" appearance, or my "frightful" presence when we passed by the householders.

Harry had been walking quickly, so much so that Dudley's gang soon came into view again; they were saying their farewells at the entrance to Magnolia Crescent. Harry stepped into the shadow of a large lilac tree and waited.

"...Squealed like a pig, didn't he?" one of them was saying to guffaws from the others. I made a low growl, and a small sound that Harry had termed as 'squawking.

"Nice right hook, Big D." said another.

"Same time tomorrow?" said Dudley.

"Round at my place, my parents are out." said another.

"See you then," said Dudley.

"Bye, Dud!"

"See ya, Big D!"

Harry waited for the rest of the gang to move on before setting off again. When their voices faded once more he headed around the corner into Magnolia Crescent and by walking very quickly, we soon came within hailing distance of our cousin, who was strolling along easily, humming in a very tone-deaf manor. I felt Harry's shoulders tense a bit as he shouted.

"Hey, Big D!"

Dudley turned.

"Oh," he grunted. "It's you."

"How long have you been 'Big D' then?" said Harry as I slid off his shoulders, my claws making soft ticking sounds as I landed on the concrete.

"Shut it," snarled Dudley, though the effect was slightly less, since he was busy eyeing me with general unease. I morphed and grinned at him.

"Cool name." I said as Harry and I fell into step on either side of him. "But to us, you'll always be Ickle Diddykins."

"I said SHUT IT you freak." said Dudley, who's ham-like hands had curled into fists.

"Don't the boys know that that's what your mum calls you?" asked Harry in false shock.

"Shut your face."

I grinned widely. "You don't tell _her_ to shut her face."

"What about 'popkin' and 'Dinky Diddydums', can we use them then?"

Dudley said nothing. The effort of keeping himself from hitting one of us seemed to be taking up all his concentration and self-control.

"So who've you been beating up tonight? Harry asked, his grin fading. I felt myself begin to scowl. "Another ten-year-old? I know you did Mark Evans two nights ago -"

"He was asking for it." snarled Dudley.

"Oh yeah?"

"He cheeked me."

I sneered. "Yeah? Did he tell you that you look like a pig that's been taught to walk upright?"

Harry grinned in a very mean way. ""Cause that's not cheek, Dud, that's true..."

A muscle twitched in Dudley's jaw. It gave me a sick sense of pleasure and satisfaction to know how furious we were making this boy. It was like we were siphoning off our frustration onto him.

We turned right, and I fell behind the two boys as we went down a narrow alleyway that acted as a shortcut between Magnolia Crescent and Wisteria Walk. It was empty but much darker than the streets it linked because there were no street lamps. Our footsteps were muffled by a garage wall on one side and a high fence on the other. Harry and I usually avoided this particular shortcut, but we were following our cousin.

"You two think you're all tough, carrying those things, don't you?" said Dudley after a few seconds.

"What things?" I asked.

"Those - those things you're hiding."

I could almost hear Harry grinning as he spoke, "Not as stupid as you look, are you, Dud?"

I snorted. "If he were, I doubt he would be able to walk and talk at the same time."

But I became uneasy when Harry pulled out his wand. I didn't feel like getting in trouble with the ministry over something stupid like this.

"You're not allowed." Dudley said at once. "I know you're not. You'd both get expelled from that freak school you two go to."

"How do you know the rules haven't chanced, Big D?"

"They haven't." said Dudley, though he didn't sound completely convinced. Harry laughed softly.

"Neither of you have the guts to take me on without those things, have you?" Dudley snarled.

"Whereas you need four mates behind you before you can beat up a ten year old. You know that boxing title you keep banging on about? How old was your opponent? Seven? Eight?"

"He was sixteen for your information," snarled Dudley. "And he was out for twenty minutes after I'd finished with him and he was twice as heavy as you, probably six times as heavy as your freak sister. You just wait till I tell Dad you had that thing out -"

"Running to Daddy now are you? Is his ickle boxing champ frightened of nasty Harry's wand?"

"Not this brave at night are you?" sneered Dudley.

I snorted. "This _is_ night, Diddykins. That's what we call it when it goes all dark like this."

"I meant when he's in bed, you twat!" snarled Dudley.

We all stopped walking. And my blood ran cold.

Okay, confession time. What I'd said earlier, about Harry and I both having awful nightmares? That was true, but there was one major difference between mine and his. Actually, it was a major difference even when we weren't having nightmares. When I was younger, I'd had a serious problem with sleep walking. I'd grown out of it around the age of ten or so. But Harry talked in his sleep. All. The. Time. Especially when he was having nightmares. But Harry didn't know that. I'd never felt the need or seen a reason to tell him.

"What d'you mean, I'm not brave in bed?" said Harry, looking very nonplussed. "What - am I supposed to be afraid of pillows or something?"

"I heard you last night," said Dudley breathlessly. "Talking in your sleep. _Moaning._"

"What d'you mean?" Harry said again, and I felt ice chips forming in my chest. Harry seemed to be aware of the danger here as well.

Dudley gave a harsh bark of laughter then adopted a high-pitched, whimpering voice that poorly imitated Harry's. "'Don't kill Cedric! Don't kill Cedric!' who's Cedric - your boyfriend?"

"I - you're lying -" Harry said automatically. But we all knew he wasn't. There was no other way he could know Cedric Diggory's name.

"Dad! Help me, Dad! He's going to kill me, Dad! Boo-hoo!"

"Shut it, Dudley." I warned, watching Harry carefully, as he was fingering his wand and glaring dangerously. I felt my own fury rising in my chest, but Harry was touchier than I a was about the night in the graveyard. He was liable to actually attack Dudley.

"Come and help me, Dad! Mum, come and help me! He's killed Cedric! Dad, help me! He's going to - _don't you point that thing at me!_"

Dudley backed into the alley wall as my brother pointed his wand at Dudley's heart.

"Harry!" I shouted, stepping between the wand and my cousin. "He's not worth it. You'll get us both expelled, and then what? We'll be right where Voldemort wants us and you know it."

The wand lowered fractionally. Reaching out, I pulled it from his slackened fingers before turning to give Dudley a very hard look.

"I don't like you, and you don't like either of us, but I'll ask you not to speak of that again. Believe us or don't, but last year Harry was forced to watch a boy named Cedric be murdered by the same lunatic that murdered our parents. Make fun of it again, and next time I'm not stepping in to save your worthless ass."

His face paled, and horrified guilt crossed his face as he realized that I was serious. Seemed that even Dudley understood the gravity of what he'd just been making fun of. But then he gave an odd, shuddering gasp, as though he'd just been doused with ice water.

Something had happened to the night air. The star strewn indigo sky was suddenly pitch black and lightless. The stars, the moon, and the misty light from the street lamps at the ends of the alley had vanished. The distant grumble of cars and the whisper of trees was gone. The balmy evening was suddenly piercingly cold. We were surrounded by total, impenetrable, silent darkness, as though a giant had dropped a thick, icy mantle over the entire alleyway, blinding us.

It was a sensation that I remembered with dread and horror.

Dudley's terrified voice broke in my ears. "W-what're you doing? St-stop it!"

"We haven't done anything!" Harry snapped.

"Both of you shut up and don't move!" I hissed. Feeling behind me, I grabbed Harry and forced his wand back into his hand. "This isn't good."

"I can't see! I've gone blind! I-"

"Dudley, shut the fuck up!"

It shouldn't be here, it couldn't be here. What in the seven rings of hell would one be doing in a muggle neighborhood? Why did it have to be _our_ muggle neighborhood? I strained my ears, we would hear them before we saw them, I knew that.

"I'll t-tell dad!" Dudley whimpered. "W-where are you? What are you d-do-?"

"Will you shut up?" Harry hissed at him. "We're trying to lis-"

But he fell silent. He had heard what I had, the very thing we were dreading. There was something in the alleyway besides us now. Something that was drawing long, hoarse, rattling breaths. I felt a horrible jolt of dread as I stood trembling in the freezing air.

"C-cut it out! Stop doing it! I'll h-hit you, I swear I will!"

"Dudley, shut-"

There was a thud and then the sound of falling before Dudley slammed into me from behind, knocking me over as he went running headlong down the alley.

"DUDLEY COME BACK! YOU'RE RUNNING RIGHT AT IT!" Harry shouted.

There was a horrible, squealing yell, and Dudley's footsteps stopped. I felt a creeping chill coming from behind us. There was more than one.

"DUDLEY KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT! WHATEVER YOU DO, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!" I shouted at him as I scrambled to my feet, clawing at my shirt, and ripping my wand from the holster beneath my clothing.

"_Lumos!_" I roared, turning around, my wand tip igniting with light.

My stomach flipped over.

Harry was on the ground scrabbling for his dropped wand. And behind him, a towering, hooded figure was gliding smoothly towards us, hovering over the ground, no feet or face visible beneath it's robes.

Dragging Harry to his feet, I stumbled backward.

_"__Expecto Patronum!"_

A silvery wisp of vapor shot from the tip of my wand and the dementor slowed, but the spell hadn't worked right; tripping over my feet, I retreated farther as the creature bore down on us, panic fogging my brain - _concentrate -_

A pair of grey, slimy, scabbed hands slid from inside the dementor's robes, reaching for us. A rushing sound filled my ears, along with Harry's even weaker attempt to ward off the attack.

_"__Expecto Patronum!"_

There was laughter inside my head, high pitched and cruel, the screams of my mother... I could smell the dementor's putrid, death-cold breath, filling my own lungs, drowning me - _Think... Something happy..._

But the high-pitched laughter was growing louder, and I could hear the screaming of my brother under the cruciatus.

I was never going to see Sara, or Draco, or Theo, or Blaise again -

And their faces burst clearly into my mind as I fought for breath -

_"__EXPECTO PATRONUM!"_

A beautiful silver fox erupted from the tip of my wand; it leapt through the air and it's paws landed hard on the dementor's chest, right where it's heart should have been. It was thrown backward as though it was as weightless as a feather in a storm. It then swooped away, batlike and defeated.

Behind me I heard Harry roar his own patronus, and turned in time to see the enormous silver stag charging the dementor that had Dudley. Our cousin was curled up on the ground, his arms clamped over his face; a second dementor was crouching low over him, slowly, almost lovingly, prizing his arms apart, lowering it's hooded head towards Dudley's face...

"DUDLEY!"

"GET IT!"

Together, the fox and the stag bounded down the alley. The fox gave a silent bark, and the stag's antlers caught the creature in the chest. Again, the dementor was pushed back before swooping away into the night. The stag cantered to the end of the alleyway before dissolving into silver mist. The fox stood guard over Dudley as my brother and I sprinted towards him.

Moon, stars, and street lamps burst back into life. A warm breeze swept through the alley. Trees rustled in neighboring gardens and the mundane rumble of cars in Magnolia Crescent filled the air again.

My mind was racing. I couldn't believe what had just happened. Dementors _here_, in Little Whinging...

Dudley lay curled up on the ground, whimpering and shaking as my patronus nuzzled his cheek comfortingly, bathing him in warm, silvery light. Harry bent down to get a closer look at him, but then we heard loud, running footsteps behind us; instinctively, I dissolved the patronus, and spun around on my heel to face the newcomer.

Mrs. Figg, our batty neighbor, came panting into sight. Her grizzled grey hair was escaping it's hairnet, a clanking string shopping bag was swinging from her wrist, and her feet were halfway out of her tartan carpet slippers. Harry and I both made to stow our wands out of sight, but -

"Don't put them away you idiots!" she shrieked. "What if there are more? Oh, I'm going to _kill_ Mundungus Fletcher!"


	52. Squibs, Owls, and shedding cats

"What?" Harry asked blankly.

"He left!" said Mrs. Figg. "Left too see someone about a batch of cauldrons that fell off the back of a broom! I told him I'd flay him alive if he went, and now look! Dementors! It's just lucky that I put Mr. Tibbles on the case! But we haven't got time to stand around! Hurry, now, we've got to get you two back! Oh, the trouble this is going to cause! I will _kill_ him!"

"You're a witch?" I asked in surprise.

"I'm a Squib, as Mundungus knows full well, so how on earth was I supposed to help you fight off dementors? He left you completely without cover when I _warned _him -"

"This bloke, Mundungus has been following us? Hang on - it was _him_! He Disapparated from the front of our house!" Harry said.

"Yes, yes, _yes_, but luckily I'd stationed Mr. Tibbles under a car just in case, and he came and warned me, but by the time I got there you'd gone - and now - oh -"

"Excuse me, this may seem unimportant, but who the hell is Mr. Tibbles?" I asked.

"He's her cat." Harry said dully.

"Kneazle, dear. It's an easy mistake."

"Hang on, are you one of those kneazle cat breeders?" I asked.

"Yes, but that's hardly important right now!" the old woman said in exasperation. "We need to get you back to the Dursleys'!"

She reached down and seized one of Dudley's massive arms in her wizened hands, and tugged. "Get _up_, you useless lump, get _up_!"

But Dudley either could not or would not move. He hadn't moved from his place on the ground, trembling and ashen-faced, his mouth clamped tight. At least he'd listened to me in that respect.

"We'll do it," I said, reaching down to grab his arm. "Harry help me."

My brother and I each took a side of our cousin and looped his arms around our shoulders before exerting enormous effort, we both managed to hoist the boy-walrus to his feet. Dudley seemed to be to the point of fainting: His small eyes were rolling in their sockets, and he was coated in sweat. Harry and I didn't dare let go of him.

"Hurry up!" said Mrs. Figg hysterically.

Rolling my eyes, I helped Harry to half-drag our cousin towards the road, both of us sagging a little under his weight. The only reason we weren't collapsing under his weight was probably because we were both athletes in our own right. However neither dancing, nor Quiddich involved carrying people two and three times our size.

"Keep your wands out." she told us, as we entered Wisteria Walk. "Never mind the Statute of Secrecy now, there's going to be hell to pay anyway, we might as well be hanged for a dragon as an egg. Talk about the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery... This was _exactly_ what Dumbledore was afraid of - what's that at the end of the street? Oh it's just Mr. Prentice... Don't put your wands away you two! Don't I keep telling you I'm useless?"

The Slytherin in me desperately wanted to make a sarcastic and biting comment, but I held back. There were much better uses of my breath. Especially considering that I was helping to haul what was essentially dead weight at this point.

"You know Dumbledore?" Harry panted.

"Of course I know Dumbledore!" the old bat screeched. "Who do you think told us to watch you?"

"Why was he having us watched in the first place?" I asked.

"Dear, do you really think he'd let the two of you go wandering around on your own, after what happened to that poor Diggory boy last year? And now that he-who-must-not-be-named is back? Good lord, girl, they told me you were intelligent... Right, I'll walk you to the door." she said as we turned onto Privet Drive.

"We were supposed to keep you two from doing magic at all costs, but now... Well it's no use crying over spilt potion now, I suppose... But the cat's among the pixies now..." We arrived at number four, and I struggled not to sigh in relief. "Now, get inside and stay there, I expect someone should be in tough soon enough."

"What're you going to do?" Harry asked.

"I'm going straight home." Mrs. Figg said, staring around at the dark street and shuddering. "I'll need to await further orders. Just stay inside the house. Goodnight."

"Hang on, don't go yet! We want to know-"

But Mrs. Figg had already set off at a trot, her slippers flopping against her heels, and her bag clanking along.

"Wait!" I shouted after her. Harry and I had about a million questions for anyone in contact with Dumbledore; but within seconds Mrs. Figg had been swallowed up by darkness. Scowling, Harry and I made our way slowly up the garden path.

"Crazy old bat." I muttered.

"Can't argue with you there." Harry panted.

The hall light was on. Harry and I stowed our wands, my holster chafing and slipping from the sweat that was beading on my skin. Harry, who was closest, rang the doorbell and we watched as Aunt Petunia's outline grew larger and larger, oddly distorted by the rippling glass of the front door.

"Diddy! About time too, I was getting quite - quite - _Diddy, what's the matter?_"

I looked sideways at Dudley and Harry and I ducked out from under his arm just in time. Dudley swayed for a moment on the spot, his face a sickly green, and then he opened his mouth at last, vomiting on the doormat.

"DIDDY! Diddy, what's the matter with you? Vernon? VERNON!"

Our uncle came galumphing in out of the living room, his walrus mustache twitching as it always did when he was agitated. He hurried forward to help Aunt Petunia negotiate a weak-kneed Dudley over the threshold while avoiding the pool of sick.

"He's ill, Vernon!"

"What is it son? What happened? Did the Polkiss give you something foreign for tea?"

"Why are you all covered in dirt, darling? Have you been lying on the ground?"

"Hang on - you haven't been mugged, have you, son?"

Petunia screamed. "Phone the police, Vernon! Phone the police! Diddy darling, speak to Mummy! What did they do to you?"

In all the madness, nobody seemed to have noticed my brother and I, which honestly, suited us just fine. We managed to slip in just before Uncle Vernon slammed the front door shut while the Dursleys made their noisy progress into the kitchen. Harry and I carefully and quietly made our way over to the stairwell.

"Who did it son? Give us names. We'll get them, don't worry."

"Shh! He'd trying to say something, Vernon! What is it, Diddy? Tell Mummy!"

I was about a quarter of the way up the stairs, and Harry was on the first step or so when Dudley found his voice.

_"__Them."_

We both froze, and I screwed up my eyes, muttering though gritted teeth, "Fuck."

"COME HERE! THE PAIR OF YOU!"

With anger burning in my chest, and dread painted across my brother's face, I descended the stairs and followed Harry into the kitchen to face the Dursleys.

Dudley had been sat in a chair, still looking very green and clammy. Petunia was beside him fussing, and Vernon was standing in front of the draining board, glaring at us through tiny, narrowed eyes.

"What have you done to my son?" he said in a menacing growl.

"Nothing -" Harry started to say, but I over road him.

"Saved his life is what we've done, you ungrateful pig."

"Silence!" he roared, his face turning purple.

"What did they do to you, Diddy?" Aunt Petunia said in a quavering voice, now sponging sick from the front of Dudley's leather jacket. "Was it - was it you-know-what, darling? Did they use those - those _things_?"

Slowly, Dudley nodded.

"We didn't!" Harry said sharply, as Aunt Petunia let out a wail and Uncle Vernon raised his fists. "We didn't do anything to him, it wasn't us it was -"

But at that very moment, a screech owl swooped in through the open window of the kitchen, narrowly missing our uncle's head, dropped a large parchment envelope from it's beak onto the floor a our feet, and then swooped out the window again.

"OWLS!" bellowed Vernon. "OWLS AGAIN! I WILL NOT HAVE ANMORE OWLS IN MY HOUSE!"

But I was looking over Harry's shoulder as he tore open the letter. My heart was beating somewhere in my throat.

_Dear Lyra and Harry Potter,_

_We have received intelligence that you both preformed the Patronus Charm at twenty-three minutes past nine this evening in a muggle-inhabited area and in the presence of a muggle._

_The severity of this breach of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery has resulted in your dual expulsion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Ministry officials will be calling at your place of residence shortly to destroy your wands._

_As you have both received an official warning for a previous offense under section 13 of the International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy, we regret to inform both of your presence is required at a disciplinary hearing at the Ministry of Magic at 9 am on August 12th._

_Hoping you are well,_

_Yours sincerely,_

_Mafalda Hopkirk_

_IMPROPER USE OF MAGIC OFFICE_

Ministry of Magic

I felt my blood run cold. I was only vaguely aware of my aunt and uncle speaking. In the vicinity. I felt numb. Destroy our wands? My wand? I felt the slim wooden instrument burning against my skin. Magic was one of the best parts of my life, it was who I was, and now...

I looked up at the Dursleys. Uncle Vernon was purple faced, shouting, his fists still raised; Aunt Petunia had her arms around Dudley, who was retching again.

There was only one thing for it. We would have to run. Where er would go, I had no idea, but I knew one thing. Regardless of personal feelings, inside or outside Hogwarts, Harry and I needed our wands. They were our only real defense against Voldemort and his followers. Without them we were as good as dead.

In a near dreamlike state, I pulled out my wand again, and turned around to leave the kitchen, pulling on Harry to follow me.

"Where do you think you're going?" yelled Vernon. When neither of us responded, he pounded across the kitchen to block the doorway into the hall. "I haven't finished with you!"

"Get out of the way." Harry said quietly from behind me.

"You're going to stay here and explain how my son -"

"If you don't get out of our way," I said flatly, pointing my wand at his heart. "I'm going to hex you."

"You can't pull that one on me!" snarled our uncle. "I know you two can't do magic outside of that madhouse you call a school!"

"That madhouse just chucked us out." I said calmly. "So we can do whatever we damn well please. Now get out of my way, or I will hex you."

A resounding _CRACK_ filled the kitchen just then; Aunt Petunia screamed, Uncle Vernon yelled and ducked, but for the third time today, Harry and I were staring around for the source of a disturbance that we had not caused. We both spotted it at the same time: a dazed and ruffled looking old barn owl that was sitting on the kitchen sill, having just collided with the closed window.

Ignoring Vernon's anguished yell of "OWLS!" Harry and I both crossed the room at a run and I wrenched the window open again as Harry reached for the small roll of parchment attached to Errol's leg, who ruffled his feathers and took off once we began unfurling the second message, which had been written very hastily and blochily in black ink.

_Lyra, Harry -_

_Dumbledore's just arrived at the Ministry, and he's trying to sort it all out. DO NOT LEAVE YOUR AUNT AND UNCLES HOUSE. DO NOT DO ANYMORE MAGIC. DO NOT SURRENDER YOUR WAND._

_Arthur Weasley._

Dumbledore was trying to sort it all out... What in the name of Merlin did that mean? Just how much power did that old wizard have to override the British Ministry of Magic? Was there a chance we might be allowed back at Hogwarts? To keep our wands?

Taking a deep breath, I grabbed Harry's arm and dragged him over to the kitchen table where we both sat opposite Dudley.

"Right," I said. "We've changed our minds, we're staying."

"We are?" Harry asked dazedly. I elbowed him to keep him quiet.

The Dursley's looked taken aback by our abrupt change of tune. But regardless, there was still a problem at hand for them.

"Who are all these ruddy owls from?" our uncle growled.

"The first one was from the Ministry of Magic, expelling us." I said calmly, straining my ears to hear if anyone was approaching the house, namely the Ministry officials. And it was decidedly easier and quieter to answer Uncle Vernon's questions than to have him ranting and yelling.

"The second one was from my friend Ron's dad, he works at the Ministry." Harry said.

_"__Ministry of Magic?"_ bellowed Vernon. "People like you in _government_? Oh, this explains everything, everything, no wonder the country's going to the dogs..."

I held my tongue. It was pointless to get into a political argument with him right now. Or ever, really. Uncle Vernon glared at us, then spat. "And why have you been expelled?"

"Because we did magic." I said.

"AHA!" roared Uncle Vernon, slamming his fist into the side of the fridge, which sprang open; several of Dudley's low-fat snacks toppled out and burst on the floor. Frowning, something occurred to me. "So you admit it! _What did you do to -_ WHERE ARE YOU GOING? SIT BACK DOWN!"

I glared at him. "I'll be right back. Keep your hair on."

Morphing before he could respond, I sprinted out of the room and up the stairs, morphing again before grabbing something off the dresser before making my way back down to the kitchen, where I handed Dudley a chocolate cauldron.

"Eat that, it'll make you feel better."

"Lyra, what're you playing at?" Harry asked in confusion.

I rolled my eyes as I sat back down. "You know just as well as I do that the effects of those monsters is awful. Dudley's never been through anything bad before in his life, and now this happens. If anyone needs a pick-me-up, it's him."

"Diddy, no!" Petunia shouted, reaching to take the sweet from him as he nibbled on the edge. "Think of your diet!"

"Leave him alone." I snapped. "It'll make him feel better."

"What is it?" Demanded Vernon.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "I'd think you'd recognize chocolate when you saw it. That in particular is a Chocolate Cauldron."

"Which underage wizards aren't allowed to have, because they have Firewhiskey in them. Why do you have them?" Harry asked, looking affronted.

I gave him a grin. "My best mates _are_ Slytherins, are they not?"

He glared. "Malfoy give them to you?"

My grin became a smirk. "And if he did?"

There was the sound of a loud throat clearing, looking over, I saw an angry Vernon Dursley. "And exactly why are you giving my son spiked chocolate?"

"How many times do I have to say it? _To make him feel better_. I'm trying to help him you pompous oaf." I snapped.

"Guilty conscience is it?" he spat. "What did you do to him!"

"Nothing," Harry said calmly. "That wasn't us -"

_"__Was"_ said Dudley unexpectedly, and Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon instantly made flapping gestures at Harry to quiet him as he glared at me and they bent over Dudley, who was looking a bit less pale the more he ate of the chocolate.

"Go on, son." said Uncle Vernon. "What did they do?"

"Tell us, darling," whispered Aunt Petunia.

"Pointed his wand at me," Dudley mumbled, his eyes down, looking at the chocolate in his hands.

"Yeah, I did, but I didn't use -" Harry began angrily, but -

"SHUT UP!" roared Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia in unison.

"Go on, son." repeated Uncle Vernon, his mustache twitching furiously.

"She stepped in, then all dark." Dudley said hoarsely. "Everything dark. And then I h-heard..._things_. Inside m-my head..."

Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia exchanged horrified looks. They obviously thought their precious son was losing his mid.

"What sorts of things did you hear, popkin?" breathed Aunt Petunia, who was white faces and tearful.

But what he had heard, Dudley seemed to be incapable of saying. He shuddered again, shaking his big blond head as he stuffed more of the chocolate into his mouth. Despite the sense of numb that I felt toward most everything at the moment, I felt curious. Whenever I got near a Dementor, I heard my parents being murdered, and the sounds of my brother screaming... What had spoiled, papered, bullying Dudley been forced to hear?"

"How come you fell over son?" asked our uncle quietly, who had adopted the sort of voice you would use at the bedside of a very ill person.

"T-tripped," said Dudley shakily. "And then -"

He motioned to his chest, and I understood: Dudley was remembering the horrible cold that filled his lungs as hope and happiness was sucked out of him.

"Horrible." croaked Dudley. "Cold. Really cold."

"Okay," said Uncle Vernon in a voice of forced calm as his wife placed a hand on her son's forehead to check his temperature. "What happened then, Dudders?"

"Felt...felt...felt...as if...as if..."

"As if you'd never be happy again." Harry supplied dully.

"Yes." Dudley whimpered, still trembling. "Then, it was warm. And I felt better. There was a light..."

"My Patronus." I said. "It was standing over you. Harry's was chasing off the dementor."

"The what? What's this codswallop?" Uncle Vernon demanded.

"De-men-tors" said Harry slowly and clearly. "Two of them."

"And what the ruddy hell are dementors?"

"They guard the wizarding prison, Azkaban." said Aunt Petunia.

Two seconds' ringing silence followed those words, and then Aunt Petunia seemed to realize what she had said, and clapped her hand over her mouth as though she had released a disgusting swear word. Uncle Vernon was goggling at her. My brain was reeling. Batty Mrs. Figg was one thing - but _Aunt Petunia?_

"Why do you know that? I breathed.

She looked quite appalled with herself. She glanced at Vernon with a fearful apology, then lowered her hand slightly.

"I heard - that awful boy- telling _her_ about them - years ago." she said jerkily.

"If you mean our mum and dad, why don't you use their names?" said Harry loudly. But our aunt was ignoring him. She seemed horribly flustered.

Uncle Vernon opened his mouth, shut it, opened it again, shut it again, then, apparently trying to remember how to speak, opened it a third time and croaked. "So - so - they - er - they actually exist, so they - er - dementey-whatsits?"

Aunt Petunia nodded.

He looked from Petunia, to Dudley, to Harry, to me, as if waiting for someone to shout "April Fools!" when nobody did, he went back to struggling for words. But he was spared the trouble by the arrival of a third owl, which zoomed through the still open window and landed with a clatter on the kitchen table, causing all three Dursleys to jump with fright.

I tore a second, official looking envelope from the owl's beak and tore it open as the owl zoomed back out the window.

"Enough - effing - _owls..._" muttered Uncle Vernon as he stomped over to the window and slammed it shut again.

_Dear Lyra and Harry Potter,_

_Further to our letter of approximately twenty-two minutes ago, the Ministry of Magic has revised it's decision to destroy your wands forthwith. You may retain your wands until your disciplinary hearing on 12th August, at which time an official decision will be made._

_Following discussions with the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Ministry has agreed that the question of your expulsion will also be decided at that time. You should therefore consider yourselves suspended from school pending further inquires._

_With best wishes,_

_Yours sincerely,_

_Mafalda Hopkirk_

_IMPROPER USE OF MAGIC OFFICE_

Ministry of Magic

The miserable knot in my chest loosened slightly at the thought that we were not expelled, though my fears were by no means banished. Everything seemed to depend upon this hearing.

"Well?" said Uncle Vernon, recalling me to our surroundings. "What now? Have they sentenced you to anything? Do your lot have the death penalty?"

"We've got to go to a hearing." Harry said.

"And they'll sentence you there?"

"I suppose so."

"I won't give up hope then." said Uncle Vernon nastily.

I narrowed my eyes and stood up, again pulling Harry with me. We needed time alone to think and speak about what would come next. "I think we're done here."

"NO WE'RE REDDY WELL NOT!" bellowed Vernon. "SIT BACK DOWN!"

"Fuck off, you're _not_ my dad. You're not even my _guardian._ You're just an angry fat man who married my mum's bitchy sister." I said in a very nasty sneer that stunned him and Petunia. "Dudley is going to be fine. He just needs rest and comfort. Thus, we've told you everything important, so now my brother and I are going to go upstairs and try and sort this out. So don't try and tell me what to fucking do."

With that, I stomped out of the room, and all the way up the stairs.

"You know that's going to come back and bite us in the arse, right?"

"I don't care." I said, storming into our room and throwing myself on the bed. "I hate this place. I don't understand how you grew up with them."

He sighed tiredly and sat beside me on the bed. "I hate it too."

We were quiet for several moments after that, until a soft hooting broke the silence. Looking up, I spotted an owl sitting beside Hedwig's cage with Zephyr. I gave a strangled gasp and scrambled off the bed, half falling as I did, trying to get to the eagle owl.

"Archimedes, what're you _doing_ here." I asked frantically.

I hadn't seen the bird since we'd left Hogwarts, the reason being that Draco couldn't send me letters except through Blaise. It wasn't safe.

Taking the scroll of parchment from him I unfurled it to read Draco's hasty letter.

_Lyra,_

_My father let slip what's going on. Are you and Harry alright? I heard you were being expelled, that's not true right? I bloody well hope not. What in the name of Merlin's pants were you thinking, casting magic in front of your cousin?! You had to have known you'd get in trouble!_

_I'm really worried over here Lyra. What's going on?_

_Both frightened and worried,_

_Draco_

_P.s. I love you_

I shook my head and tried not to blush at his post script. Hastily, I scrawled a reply on a spare sheet of paper, explaining what had happened, and about the hearing. I told him not to send me another letter that didn't come by way of Blaise's owl.

Rolling it up and tying it with a bit of string, I held it out to Archimedes. "Take this to Blaise Zabini. Understand? Do not take it to your master."

Blinking at me in what I hoped was understanding, the large owl swooped out the open bedroom window and into the night.

"I still don't understand your relationship with Malfoy. It's only going to cause you trouble in the long run. Plus, he's a tosspot." Harry said in a matter-of-fact way as I sat back down.

I sighed tiredly. "He's not that bad. And believe me, I'm fully aware of what'll happen if we're not careful. But he and I are to selfish to do the sensible thing and end it, and for the record, I did try to back in June."

"Not very hard apparently." Harry said dryly.

"I couldn't break it off with Draco any more than you could completely stop talking to Ron and Hermione."

"Oh that is _so_ not the same thing!"

I rolled my eyes. "Believe me, I know that. But it's the only comparison I can make."

"I still think you're an idiot." he grumbled, walking over to the desk and pulling out parchment and reopening my ink bottle.

"Hey!" I said, jumping up and grabbing the bottle back from him. "Use your own ink. This stuff is expensive."

He scowled and reached for the bottle. "It's ink."

I stepped away and held it away from him, careful not to spill the byzantium purple liquid. "Its the ink I write my letters with. Use the black ink."

"You write letters all the time! You hardly ever use it."

I rolled my eyes. "It's almost empty, thats why. Lately I only use it when I write to Sirius or Draco."

"You're being stupid."

"And you're being a jerk."

He gave an irritable sigh and opened a drawer to pull out the black ink. Satisfied, I put the stopper back in the bottle I was holding.

"You're really weird, you know that?" Harry grumbled as he scrawled out three identical letters.

I grinned. "Oh, believe me, I know."

He rolled his eyes at me from behind his glasses.

"So who're you writing to anyway?" I asked, sitting back down.

He shrugged. "I figured we should probably let our friends and Sirius know what's happened. Besides, we need to know what's going on."

I frowned. "You're probably right."

It was at this time, that an owl I didn't recognize swooped through the window. I stared at it in surprise as it made a graceful turn around the room, dropping a bit of parchment beside me and then soaring out the window again.

"What was that about?" Harry asked as I picked up the slip of paper.

"Dunno." I muttered, reading the note. It was Sirius's handwriting.

_Arthur's just told me what happened._

_Don't leave the house again, whatever you do._

I scoffed and balled it up before throwing it at the waste basket in the corner. Harry frowned at me. "What?"

I huffed and let myself fall backward onto the mattress. "Sirius telling us to stay inside and out of trouble essentially. Is _no one_ going to congratulate us on fending off a couple of dementors? Or at least apologize for our supposed guard going off for some shady deal?"

Harry let out an irritated sigh. "Apparently not. Hedwig's out hunting. Mind if I borrow Zephyr?"

"Not at all." I said tiredly as my cat came out of hiding and leapt up onto the bed with me. I spared him a small smile and scratched him behind the ears. "Hey buddy."

"You know I don't like that hairball on the bed." my brother said as he ushered my red-tailed hawk out the window.

"Tough luck."

"He sheds."

"You're not allergic."

"I still don't like him on my bed."

"Oh well."


	53. A…Rescue?

Despite our shared hopes for news from someone, Zephyr did not return in the morning. And despite hoping to get another message from Draco, Blaise's barred owl, Camilla, was nowhere in sight either. Harry had even sent an additional letter with Hedwig when she'd come back from hunting, but even she was still gone.

Harry and I spent the day in his room. Three times, Aunt Petunia shoved food into the room through the cat flap that Uncle Vernon had installed three summers ago. Other than that, the Dursleys avoided the room. I really didn't see the point in forcing our company on them; another fight would achieve nothing except for maybe making one of us so angry that we'd preform more illegal magic.

It was like that for three days. It seemed to fill my brother alternately with restless energy that caused him to pace in the room angrily and mutter about unfairness, and then with a lethargy that would cause him to lay on the bed rather listlessly and stare out the open window.

At the moment he was pacing.

I sat out of his way, on the bed, reading one of the books I'd gotten in town a few weeks ago. It was actually pretty good. I'd picked it up initially because the main character had the same name as my brother. The book's name was Storm Front was set in the American city of Chicago, and told from a first person point of view by a private investigator, who was actually a wizard. In this particular case he was investigating a brutal murder done with magic. Part of his involvement was because people thought he -

"Harry, you're creating a draft."

"Huh?"

I rolled my eyes and looked up from the book, who's pages kept fluttering a bit when my brother walked past me. "I _said_ you are creating a draft. Sit down, you'll wear a hole in the carpet at this rate."

"Well I'm _sorry_. Not all of us can just sit calmly and read a bloody book all day." he snapped.

I scowled and shut the bock, my thumb stuck between the pages to hold my place. "I'm just as angry as you are, but pacing in a small room grumbling to anyone who will listen isn't going to solve anything. Frankly, it's annoying. Find something else to do."

With a very large sigh of irritation, Harry flopped down on the bed, causing the springs to ripple, and bounce my book out of my had, losing my place. Growling, I glared at him as I picked it back up and took up residence in the desk chair.

"Sorry." my brother said, sounding very put out, but not at all sorry.

I rolled my eyes and put my feet up on the desk.

The next night, Harry was again in one of his apathetic phases, as sad and pathetic as they were, a preferred them, because he wasn't making an ass of himself. He was currently laying on the floor staring at the ceiling with a completely bland expression, and I was at the work desk with my small potions set, waiting for a potion to finish simmering while doodling on one of my notepads, when our uncle entered the bedroom. I don't think either of us bothered to look at him.

"We're going out." he said, and I could tell he was restraining his anger again. The Dursleys _hated_ when I brewed potions. But the week they'd denied me making my calming draught that I took before sleeping, they'd been sorry. Harry still swore I nearly burst his eardrum when he'd tried to wake me up.

"Sorry?" I heard my brother ask.

"We - that is to day, your aunt, Dudley, and I - are going out."

"Fine," Harry said dully.

"You two are not to leave this room while we are away."

"Okay." I said calmly, still drawing.

"You are not to touch the television, the stereo, or any of our possessions."

"Right." Harry said, seeming to be impatient for our uncle to get on with it though.

"You are not to steam food from the fridge."

I restrained myself from scoffing while harry replied blandly. "Okay."

"I'm going to lock your door."

"You do that." I said rolling my eyes as the warning timer for the potion went off.

I heard Uncle Vernon curse at me under his breath but chose to ignore it as he stomped out of the room and closed the door behind him before turning the key very roughly in the lock. A few minutes later I heard the slamming of car doors, the rumble of an engine, and the sound of the car sweeping out of the drive.

The final timer for the potion went off and I pulled the potion stand away from the bunsen burner and back to the middle of the desk before turning the little flame off. While the potion bubbled, I reached into the bottom most drawer and pulled out my jar of crushed moonstone, as well as the dried dandelion roots.

I measured out the correct amount of moonstone and sifted it into the potion before taking the pocket knife set to the side and set about slicing the dandelion roots into exact sizes.

That was when we heard a distinct crash in the kitchen below.

In my surprise, the knife slipped and I sliced my thumb. Gritting my teeth, I restrained a howl of pain. Dropping the knife, I pulled my wand from the arm holster I'd been wearing the last few days, and spun around to face the door.

Harry was likewise standing and pointing his wand at the door.

"Burglars, do you think?" he murmured.

"If they were, they'd keep their voices down, and you also wouldn't be asking me." I muttered, trying valiantly to ignore my throbbing hand.

And it was true. Thieves wouldn't have made a sound. Whoever was banging around in the kitchen certainly wasn't doing much of that.

Straining my ears, trying to make out what the voices below were saying, I jumped in surprise when I heard the lock on the bedroom door click, and swing open.

We both stood motionless as we stared into the dark upstairs landing, but when we heard no more sounds, we shared a look, a nod, and then we both advanced into the hallway. When we reached the stairs, we both froze.

There were people standing in the shadowy hall below, silhouetted against the streetlight glowing through the glass door; eight or nine of them in all, as fas as I could tell, and all looking up at us.

"Lower your wands, before you put someone's eye out." said a low growling voice.

I felt my heart speed up. I knew that voice, but I didn't lower my wand. In fact, I gripped it tighter.

"Professor Moody?" Harry asked uncertainly, standing just ahead of me.

"Don't know so much about 'Professor'," growled the voice. "never got around to much teaching, did I? Get down here, we want to see you two properly."

I saw Harry's wand lower slightly, but he did not move. I likewise held my ground, but I held my wand steady, pointing it at the chest of the man speaking. This wouldn't be the first Mad-Eye Moody impostor we'd come across. But before I could make a decision about flinging a spell at him and bolting, a second, slightly hoarse voice floated upstairs.

"It's alright, Harry, Lyra. We've come to take you away."

My heart leapt. That was another voice I knew, though I hadn't heard it in over a year.

"Professor Lupin?" I asked in disbelief. "Is that you?"

"What are we all standing in the dark for?" said a third, unrecognizable voice, a woman's. _"Lumos."_

A wand tip flared, illuminating the hall with magical light. I blinked. The people below were all crowded around the bottom of the stairs, gazing intently up at us, some craning their heads for a better look.

Standing nearest to us, was Remus Lupin, who had more grey hair since I'd last seen him, and who's robes were shabbier than ever. Nevertheless, he was smiling broadly at us.

Harry grinned back and started down the stairs when I grabbed the back of his shirt and held him in place. I pointed my wand directly at Lupin's chest and narrowed my eyes. The looks on everyones faces faltered.

"How do I know you're really Remus Lupin?" I asked cooly.

Mad-Eye gave a gruff bark of laughter. "Smart that one."

I glared at him before looking back at my old professor. He sighed, though his eyes gleamed with approval. "Ask me anything."

I frowned at him, pausing a moment before tentatively asking him. "What piece of jewelry do I constantly wear that is spelled with a silencing charm?"

He smiled and glanced down at my left leg. I was wearing yoga pants, so he couldn't see it, but if it was him, he would still know. "Your mother's bell anklet."

My chest blossomed with happiness. I lowered my wand and grinned at him. "Nice to see you, Professor."

"I think Remus will do now, Lyra. I'm not a teacher anymore." he said. I chuckled. And nodded in acceptance as I let go of Harry's shirt collar and descended the stairs with him.

"Oooh, they look just like I thought they would!" said the witch, who was holding her lit wand aloft. She looked to be the youngest there; she had a pale, heart shaped face, dark twinkling eyes, and short spiky hair that was a violent shade of violet.

"Yeah, I see what you mean, Remus," said a bald black wizard standing farthest back; he had a slow, deep voice, and wore a single gold hoop in his ear. "The boy looks exactly like James."

"Except the eyes," said a wheezy-voiced, silver-haired wizard at the back. "Lilly's eyes."

"And his sister looks exactly like their mum did at that age." agreed the earring-wearer.

"Black hair though. Makes them look more like a match set." joked another, who I couldn't see.

"Hey!" I snapped. "We're right here you know! We can hear every damn thing you're saying!"

Mad-Eye chuckled. "Shorter temper than either of her parents though."

"Shorter patience is more like." I said, glaring.

"Are you quite sure it's them, Lupin?" Mad-Eye asked, suddenly very serious. "It'd be a nice lookout if we bring back some Death Eaters impersonating them. We ought to ask them a question or two as well. Unless anyone brought some Veritaserum?"

Lupin sighed in acceptance, and started to open his mouth to say something when the witch interrupted, wrinkling her nose a bit. "Is something burning?"

I froze, staring at her, and sensing for myself the mild sent of smoke in the air. "Ah, _shit_!"

Morphing, I bolted up the stairs and into the bedroom. The potion on the desk was smoking and bubbling up almost over the rim of the small cauldron.

"SHIT!" I yelled, running over and grabbing the potion. I yelped in pain as some of it splashed my cut in my hurry to dump it out the window. When it landed on the bush that was just underneath the window, there was a sizzling as they disintegrated in the places where it'd been splashed. Dropping the cauldron onto the floor, I grit my teeth to keep from screaming in pain.

In the places that the botched potion had slashed my hands, there were burns, and the place where I'd been cut was the worst. The skin was actually smoking it was so bad.

"Lyra!" Harry rushed over to me, and gasped when he saw my hands. "What happened? I thought you were just making a calming draught?"

I couldn't do much more than whimper in pain as I watched him fumble through my organized box of potions, elixirs, and tonics; which was always kept under the desk. I never made large quantities of potion, so I kept them in crystal phials that were enchanted to make the potion keep longer. The down side was that they all looked the same, unless you were me. But for Harry's sake I'd been labeling them.

"Found it!" Harry exclaimed just as Remus and some of the others entered the room.

I held out my shaking hands, and Harry dragged the discarded cauldron over so that it sat upright beneath my hands before pouring the healing potion slowly over the injured areas of my hand.

I sighed in relief as the potion did it's work, the burns fading and healing as though they'd never even been there to begin with.

I'd brewed the burn healing potion for the purpose of fixing my messes. One too many trips to the hospital as a child had taught me to always keep some handy. The down side was that that had been my last batch. I'd need to make more as soon as possible.

"What in the world was that about?" Remus asked, clearly worried about whatever had just transpired.

Taking a shaky breath, I stood up. "I'd been in the middle of brewing a Calming Draught when you all showed up. I'd only just put the powdered moonstone in and was interrupted before I could put the dandelion roots in and put it back over the burner. As a result, the moonstone wasn't given an opportunity to stabilize, and the potion was ruined and soured into an acid."

The woman with the lit wand frowned. "I didn't realize moonstone was so volatile."

I shook my head. "It isn't unless you mix it with lion fish spines and nettles."

"Lyra you sound like Professor Snape." Harry said dryly.

I couldn't help but smirk. "I'm glad. My head of house is a fantastic Potions Master."

"Whatever. Doesn't mean he's not a big jerk." I stuck my tongue out at him before taking a different phial out of the box and carefully picked up the cauldron and carried it out of the room.

"Excuse me." I said as I shouldered past the adults blocking the doorway. Taking the small brass pot to the bathroom, I filled it with cold water that I sloshed around a bit before pouring a small amount of potion from the phial into the water, which turned red, and then after swishing around in the cauldron for a moment or so, faded back to clear. I then poured it down the drain.

"What was that?" asked the woman again from the doorway.

I tried not to roll my eyes at her. I really did. "A neutralizing potion. There isn't a proper place to dispose of potions in a muggle home. Using that to clean the cauldron keeps the pipes from melting, rusting, rotting, or being otherwise destroyed."

"Oooh."

"Could we please get back on topic?" Mad-Eye asked gruffly as I walked back into the bedroom, carrying the cauldron with me

"And that topic would be what, exactly, Alastor?" I asked sarcastically.

He glared at me, then looked back at Remus. "Can we really be sure that these are the children and not someone in disguise?"

The werewolf nodded. "Lyra is an animagus that transforms into a fox. And she's a potioner. I've seen enough to be convinced this is her. And she'd know it if someone were impersonating her brother."

"Great, well, I'm glad we all know that I am who I say I am." I grumbled unhelpfully, placing the cauldron's stand upright again before setting the pot down.

"Lyra, you're not helping." Harry said.

"Yeah, well they ruined my potion. And I'd imagine you'd be angry too, since this now means we're completely out of it. I'm not the only one who needs it to sleep." I snapped. "Even with a nightly dose, we _still_ have nightmares. So don't patronize me for being rude, because it only makes you look like a jackass."

"I'm not the one who only ever brews tiny amounts of potion at a time, so who's the jackass, me or you?" he said, scowling.

"I wouldn't need to make it every week if I didn't have to share it with you, you prat! The amounts I make were just fine until you started taking it too! The school cauldron is too big, and makes too much - it'd spoil before we got the chance to use it all - which is a waste of ingredients! The one I have for personal use has always been the right size, making just enough for me! So I'm _sorry_ that I don't have a larger cauldron, but it's not like I can just pop over to Diagon Alley to get a new one!" I shouted.

"Enough!" shouted Mad-Eye. "It's no use arguing over a spilt potion. And if the pair of you truly feel the need to have a spat, it can wait till we get you out of here."

"Fine." I snapped, glaring at the man.

"Why don't we all head downstairs for a bit?" Lupin suggested.

Without a word, I morphed and trotted through the small crowd around the door.

* * *

><p>I sighed heavily as I watched my sister's bushy tail disappear around the corner. "I'm sorry about that. She's not always that mean. Lyra just gets really...weird about her potions. I think it's like when our aunt used to cook when she was stressed."<p>

Lupin shook his head. "Your mother used to do the same thing. She was an excellent potion maker as well."

I couldn't help but smile, and think that Lyra would probably like hearing that.

"So, you said you're here to take us away, where are we going?" I asked curiously. "The Burrow?"

"Afraid not. We've set up headquarters somewhere much harder to find. But you need to pack before we leave." He said, his eyes sweeping the room.

I felt my face heat up. In three days, being cooped up, and being anxious, I hadn't been very clean. About halfway through the second day, Lyra had given up trying to tidy up after me. And the stuff covering the floor - apart from the pallet - was noticeably, all mine. Nearly every book I owned was strewn about the floor where I'd tried to entertain myself with them, only to throw them to the side. Hedwig's cage needed to be cleaned and was starting to smell. My school trunk was open, revealing a disorganized mess of muggle cloths and wizards' robes, which had spilled out onto the floor as well. Socks could be found in all places around the room. And my firebolt was in the middle of the floor.

In very stark contrast, Lyra's things were either not in sight, or clean and neat. The desk, which was mainly used by my sister, was completely clean. Lyra's potions set, even after being used, still looked very neat and organized. The ingredients always went back into their cataloged jars or envelopes before being placed back into the bottom drawer of the desk. All stationary was neatly stacked in a tray on the corner of the desk, with the quills placed in a glass bedside it. All ink bottles were stoppered in the top drawer, so that they wouldn't get knocked off or spilt. All potions were stored in a sectioned records box kept under the desk. The green desk lamp was even dusted. The book that Lyra had been reading lately sat on top of her school trunk, which was closed, and which I knew contained neatly folded cloths, school books that were alphabetized, a set of dismantled brass scales, her wand-care kit, and when completely packed for school, the standard size pewter cauldron she used for potions class held her potions ingredients, and her personal potions kit.

I'm not an organized person, okay?

Lupin walked out of the room, leaving the woman to supervise. Out of courtesy, I packed her things away for her. I tucked the novel in with her schoolbooks before packing her potions set and ingredients into the larger cauldron before carefully tucking the records box into the cleared space in the trunk between two stacks of folded laundry. Then I started in on my mess.

"You, know..." I turned and saw her looking in the mirror on the wall, fingering the ends of her spiky violet hair. "I don't think purple's really my color. D'you think it makes me look a bit peaky?"

"Er -" I really didn't know what to say to that, so I busied myself with stuffing _Quidditch teams of Britain and Ireland_ into my trunk.

"Yeah, it does." said the witch decisively. I looked back at her in time to see her hair change to bubble-gum pink.

"How did you do that?" I asked, gaping at her. She hadn't used her wand for that, it was still only giving off magical light.

"I'm a Metamorphmagus." she said, turning her head, so that she could see her hair from all directions.

"It means I can change my appearance at will." she added, seeing my puzzled expression in the mirror. "I was born one. I got top marks in Concealment and Disguise during Auror training without any study at all, it was great."

"You're an Auror?" I asked, suddenly more impressed my this colorful witch. Being a Dark wizard catcher was the only job after Hogwarts I'd ever considered.

"Yeah." said the witch, looking proud. "So is Kingsley, the bald black guy with the earring? He's a bit higher up than I am though, I only qualified last year. Nearly failed on Stealth and Tracking though, i'm dead clumsy, did you hear me break that plate when we first got here? Oh, and I'm Tonks, by the way."

"Nice to meet you." I said, straightening up. "Can you learn how to be a Metamorphmagus?" I asked eagerly.

Tonks chuckled. "Bet you wouldn't mind hiding that scar sometimes, eh?"

I felt my face burn at being found out so quickly. I hated it when people stared at my scar. I'd never admit it to Lyra, but I was jealous of her being able to hide hers so easily. "No, I wouldn't mind."

"Well, you'll have to learn the hard way, I'm afraid." said Tonks. "Metamorphmagi are really rare, they're born, not made. Most wizards need to use a wand or a potion to change their appearance. But we've got to get going, Harry, we're supposed to be packing." she added guiltily, looking around at the mess on the floor.

"Oh - yeah." I said, grabbing a few more books.

"Don't be stupid, it'll be much quicker if I - _pack_!" cried Tonks, waving her wand in a long, sweeping motion over the floor.

Books, cloths, telescope, and scales all soared into the air and flew pell-mell into my trunk.

"It's not very neat," said Tonks, walking over and looking down into the jumble inside. "My mum's got this knack of getting stuff to fit itself inside neatly - she even gets the socks to fold themselves - but I've never mastered how she does it - it's a kind of flick -" she flicked her wand hopefully; one of my socks gave a feeble sort of wiggle and then flopped back into the mess below.

I snorted. "It's a good job you didn't pack my sister's things then. We'd be in trouble if any of those potions broke and mixed with each other. Even I know that."

"Boom." she agreed, slamming the lid shut. "But yeah, I've never really mastered household spells. Though _that _could do with a bit of cleaning as well."

She cast a scourgify on Hedwig's cage and all feathers, droppings, and owl pellets vanished from the cage. (One of the biggest reasons Lyra said she liked having a hawk was because it meant no owl pellets. I will admit, they are disgusting).

"That's better. Right - got everything? Cauldron? Broom? Wow! A _Firebolt_?"

Her eyes widened as she saw me picking up my broomstick. It was my pride and joy. Not only was it a gift from Sirius, but it was also an international professional standard broomstick. I was anxious for this year's inter-house Quidditch tournament, so that I could _really_ test it out.

"And I'm still riding a Comet Two Sixty." said Tonks enviously. "Ah well...wand? Still got your buttocks?"

"I - what?" I frowned at her and suddenly felt very much like a girl, being self conscious about my arse.

She smirked at me. "You've got your wand stuck in the waistband of your jeans. Mad-Eye saw me do that once and went on a rant about wand safety. Said that he's known wizards who's wand went off and lost them their buttocks from that sort of thing."

I stared at her for a second before doubling over with laughter. It took me a minute to control myself. "Ly-Lyra said the same th-thing once - haha - oh, that's _brilliant_."

She chuckled as I wiped my eyes with my shirt. "So your sister's as paranoid as ole' Mad-Eye, is she?"

I shook my head, still chuckling myself. "Not quite, but there are some things that just stick in her craw."

"That being one of them, I presume?"

"Definitely."

She smiled and rolled her eyes. "Well, let's get going then." She waved her wand at the luggage as I folded up the comforter on the floor ant tossed it onto my bed.

_"__Locomotor Trunk."_

The two school trunks lifted themselves a few inches into the air. Holding her wand like a conductor's baton, Tonks made her way back across the room and out the door ahead of me, grabbing Hedwig's cage on her way past it with her free hand. I followed her down the stairs and into the kitchen carrying my broomstick.

In the kitchen, we arrived just in time to see Mad-Eye take his magical eye out of a glass of water, hand the glass to an ill-looking Lyra, and then pop it back into his head.

"Mad-Eye, you do know that that's disgusting, don't you?" Tonks said conversationally.

"I want three-hundred-and-sixty degrees visibility on the return journey." he said in response, his newly cleaned eyeball spinning at a pace that made me feel sick.

"How're we getting - wherever we're going?" I asked.

"Brooms," said Lupin. Lyra made a small strangled sound, earning a few odd looks. "Only way. You're both too young to Apparate, they'll be watching the Floo Network, and it's more than our life's worth to set up an unauthorized Portkey."

"Remus says you're good at flying." said Kingsley in his deep voice, eyeing my broom.

"He's excellent. Even got a compliment from Viktor Krum. _I_ however am shit at it." Lyra said in a pinched tone, sounding as though someone was pulling on her ear. She gave Lupin a very desperate look. "Is there really no other way?"

"I'm afraid not, Lyra. Don't worry, you can ride with one of us. We'll keep you from falling." he said earnestly.

She shook her head and looked like that didn't make her feel much better. I sighed and spoke. "Lyra is afraid of flying. Terrified, actually."

Kingsley looked very surprised. "But Arthur Weasley told me that you and your brother flew to the Burrow in his flying car three summers ago."

Lyra shook her head, looking ill again. "That was with a floor, ceiling, and walls to keep me from falling to my death. I fell asleep, pretending we were driving down a freeway. I'm a fox not a bird. And what about my cat?!"

"Isn't your best mate on a Quidditch team?" Tonks input.

"But _I _am not. So, what's your point?" she said.

I shook my head. "Arguing isn't going to help. She hates flying, bottom line."

"So is there any other way?" she begged again.

Lupin frowned. "I'm afraid there's not. This is the quickest, most nondescript way. As for your cat... I suppose we'll have to put him in a crate and carry him."

Lyra's face fell further. I frowned. "Lyra, you can fly with me. I promise not to let you fall, okay? I _promise_."

She looked me in the eye for a second, then nodded. Mad-Eye scoffed. "Yes, well, now that that's all settled, we need to get going. We've got about five minutes before the first signal. Come here, the both of you, I need to Disillusion you."

"You need to what?" I asked in confusion, stepping towards him. Lyra was busy tying her hair up into a bun.

"Disillusionment Charm," said Moody, raising his wand and rapping Lyra, and then me hard on the tops of our heads. "Lupin tells me you've got an Invisibility Cloak, but it won't stay on while we're flying; this'll disguise you better."

It felt as though he'd just smashed an egg over my head.

"Nice one," said Tonks, eyeing my midsection.

Looking down, I realized that I now looked as though I were part of the kitchen unit behind me. Looking over, I saw that Lyra now looked as though she were part of the kitchen sink and window. We were human chameleons.

"My cat." Lyra reminded him anxiously.

Moody rolled his normal eye. "Hurry it up, girl."

Nodding, Lyra bolted back up the stairs. I heard her calling for the fuzzball for a minute before she must have found him. About three minutes later, she came back down carrying the wicker cat cage, which was creaking as the little beast prowled around inside uncomfortably.

"Come on," said Moody, unlocking the back door with his wand. We all stepped out onto Uncle Vernon's beautifully kept lawn.

"Clear night," grunted Mad-Eye, his magical eye scanning the heavens before turning on my sister and I. "Right you two, we're going to be flying in close formation. Tonks'll be be right in front of you, keep close on her trail. Lupin'll be covering you from below. I'm going to be behind you. The rest will be circling us. We don't break ranks for anything, got me? If one of us is killed -"

"Is that likely?" Lyra asked in a very apprehensive manner. Moody ignored her and Lupin took the cat carrier from her.

"- the others keep flying, don't stop, don't break ranks. If they take out all of us, and you survive, the rear guard will be standing by to take over; keep flying east, and they'll join you."

"Stop being so cheerful, Mad-Eye, they'll think we're not taking it seriously." said Tonks as she strapped my trunk and Hedwig's cage into a harness hanging from her broom; Remus was doing the same with Lyra's trunk and cat. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. That cat was going to hate what came next.

"Mount your brooms, that's the first signal!" said Kingsley sharply, pointing to the sky.

Far, far above us, a shower of bright red sparks flared among the stars. I recognized them at once as wand sparks. I swung my right leg over the broom and motioned for Lyra to sit in front of me. Biting her lip, she quickly swung her leg over the broom and gripped the handle tightly. I reached around her and grabbed the handle just below where she held it. I could feel it vibrating slightly, as though the broom as as eager to be up in the air again as I was.

"Second signal, let's go!" shouted Lupin as more sparks, green this time, exploded high above us.

I kicked off from the ground. Lyra gave a whimper of fear as the cool night air rushed through our hair as we were lifted up and the neat square gardens of Privet Drive fell away, shrinking rapidly into a patchwork of dark greens and blacks.

In an attempt to comfort her, I leaned close to her and hugged her with my arms as best I could without letting go of the broom, saying into her ear, "It'll be okay!"


	54. What is going on?

I didn't relax or realize how badly I was shaking until we touched down in a small square. I had enough self control that I didn't retch, but I did morph and leap as far away from the broom as I could before crouching low and shivering violently. Not only were my nerves shot, I was freezing.

A tip for those of you who fly: do not wear shorts. Especially not when going at high speeds, miles up in the night air, for over an hour.

I heard Remus chuckle to the left of me. "Never thought a child of James's would be afraid to fly."

I growled at him, but didn't move from my spot, crouched on the ground near the curb.

"Where are we?" Harry asked.

"In a minute." Lupin said quietly, watching moody rummage through his cloak.

"Got it," the wizard muttered, pulling what looked like a silver cigarette lighter from his pocket and raising it into the air. He clicked it, and the nearest streetlamp went out with a pop. He did it again, and another one went out the same way; he kept on clicking it until the square was dark, the only light coming from the curtained windows of the surrounding houses and the moon up above us.

"Borrowed it from Dumbledore," growled Moody, pocketing the device. "That'll take care of any muggles looking out their windows. Now, come on, quick."

He took Harry by the arm, his magical eye staring at me as he lead my brother from the patch of grass, across the road and onto the pavement. Lupin nudged me with his shin to kickstart me following them as Tonks levitated the school trunks and animal carriers. The rest of the guard followed after me as I caught up with my brother and Moody.

"Here," Mad-Eye muttered, thrusting a piece of parchment into Harry's disillusioned hand, and holding his lit wand close to it. "Read it quickly and memorize it, the both of you."

Morphing, I peered over Harry's shoulder and read the narrow, vaguely familiar handwriting. It said:

_The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London._

"What's the Order of the -?" Harry began, only to be shushed by every witch and wizard present.

"Not here, boy!" snarled Moody. "Wait till we're inside!"

He pulled the piece of parchment out of Harry's hand and ignited it with his wand. As the message curled into flames and floated to the ground, I looked up at the houses again. We were standing in front of number eleven; looking to the left, I saw number thirteen, and to the right was number ten.

"But where's -?" Harry started again.

"Think about what you've just memorized." said Lupin quietly.

I thought, and no sooner had I reached the part about number twelve Grimmauld Place, than a battered door emerged from nowhere between numbers eleven and thirteen, followed swiftly by dirty walls and grimy windows. I gaped at it in wonder.

"A Fidelius Charm..." I murmured.

Moody nodded gruffly before prodding me in the back. "Come on, hurry."

I walked up the warn front steps, staring in curiosity at the newly materialized door. It's black paint was shabby and scratched, the silver door knocker was in the shape of a twisted serpent. There was no keyhole or letterbox. It was a wizard's house.

Lupin pulled out his wand and tapped the door twice. There were many loud, metallic clicks, and what sounded like the clatter of a chain. The door creaked open.

"Get in quick," Lupin whispered. "But don't go too far and don't touch anything."

Nervously, I stepped over the threshold into the almost total darkness of the hall. The place smelled like what you would imagine a derelict building would: damp, dusty, and slightly rotting. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Harry following behind me, along with all the others. Our luggage was still being levitated by Tonks; I could hear Nath's irritable mewling from inside his cat carrier. I shuffled back between my brother and the floating wicker cage, quietly unlatching it as Moody shut the door and completed the darkness of the hallway. I heard my cat leap to the floor as the wicker door creaked open, and streak off into who-knew where.

"Here -" I heard Moody say quietly, just before I was rapped on the head by the end of his wand and the Disillusionment Charm was lifted. "Now stay still everyone, while I give us a bit of light in here."

The others' hushed voices were starting to make me extremely uncomfortable; it was as though we'd just entered the house of a dying person. I heard a soft hissing noise, and then old-fashioned gas lamps sputtered to life all along the walls, casting a flickering insubstantial light over the peeling wallpaper and threadbare carpet of a long, gloomy hallway, where a cobwebby chandelier glimmered overhead and age-blackened portraits hung crooked on the walls. I heard something scuttling behind the baseboard. Both the chandelier and the candelabra on a rickety table nearby were shaped like serpents.

That, combined with the door knocker, made me extremely curious as to who's home this was in the first place. It was clearly a Slytherin home, though the only real baseline I had for that guess was the interior of the Malfoy and Nott estates.

There were hurried footsteps and Ron's mother, Mrs. Weasley, emerged from a door at the far end of the hall. She was beaming in welcome as she hurried toward us, though I noticed that she was a bit thinner and paler than she had been the last time we'd seen her.

"Oh, Harry, Lyra, it's lovely to see you both!" she whispered, pulling Harry into a tight hug, one of her hands reaching past him to grasp my shoulder in a vice like grip. Releasing my brother, she held us both at arm's length, examining us. "You're both looking a bit peaky; you'll need feeding up, but you'll have to wait until dinner I'm afraid..."

She turned to the gang of wizards behind us and whispered urgently. "He's just arrived, the meeting's started..."

The wizards behind us all made sounds of interest and excitement and began filing past Harry and I towards the door that Mrs. Weasley had just come from; I made to follow Lupin, but Mrs. Weasley held me back.

"No, Lyra, the meeting's only for members of the Order. Ron, Hermione, Sara, and Theodore are all upstairs, you can wait with them until the meeting's over, and then we'll have dinner. And keep your voice down in the hall," she added in an urgent whisper.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"I don't want you to wake anything up."

"What d'you -?"

"I'll explain later, I've got to hurry, I'm supposed to be at the meeting - I'll just show you where you'll be sleeping."

Pressing her finger to her lips and pointing her wand at the luggage, she lead us on tiptoes past a pair of moth-eaten curtains, behind which I guessed was another door, and after skirting a large umbrella stand that looked as though it had been made from a severed troll's leg, we started up a dark staircase, passing a row of shrunken heads mounted on plaques on the wall. A closer look showed me that they were actually all house-elves. All of them had the same snout-like nose.

I shuddered, and wondered why we were in a house that looked so creepy.

"Mrs. Weasley -?" Harry began.

"The others will explain everything dear, I've really got to dash." Mrs. Weasley whispered distractedly. "There" - we had reached the first landing - "Harry, dear, you're the door on the right. I'll call you both when it's over."

And with that, she hurried off down the stairs again, leaving out luggage to settle itself onto the landing.

With a huff, my brother crossed the dingy landing, and turned the doorknob that was again, shaped like the head of a serpent. I was instantly glad that he had opened the door and not me.

Beyond him was a gloomy room with high ceilings, two twin beds, of which, the furthest from the door was a bunk bed. Harry probably didn't see much of that though, because there was a loud twittering and a screeching sound from within the room, and he he was immediately attacked by a large amount of bushy hair, which knocked him flat on his back.

Hermione had thrown herself at him with a hug, while Ron's tiny owl, Pigwidgeon, zoomed excitedly around the landing.

"Harry! You're here! Oh, how _are_ you? Are you alright? Have you been furious with us? I bet you have, our letters have been useless - but we couldn't tell you anything, Dumbledore made us swear we wouldn't, oh we've got so much to tell you, and you've got to tell us - the dementors! When we heard - and that Ministry hearing - it's just outrageous, I've looked it all up, they can't expel you, they just can't, there's provisions in the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction for Underage Sorcery for the use of magic in life threatening situations -"

"Let him breath, Hermione," said Theo, pulling her away from Harry gently and pulling her back to her feet.

I walked over and pulled Harry to his feet as well. "Yes, let him breath, please. Oh, and nice to see you too, Granger." I said dryly.

The bushy-haired witch deflated a bit. "Oh, hi Lyra."

I rolled my eyes as we all walked into the room. Theo closed the door behind us, smiling at me apologetically. He had grown several inches over our month apart, and was now taller than both me and my brother. Ron was grinning at us from where he sat on one of the twin beds.

Before Hermione could launch back into her tirade, there were a pair of soft whooshing sounds, and something white soared from the top of a dark wardrobe settled on Harry's shoulder almost at the same time as something amber-colored landed on my own shoulder.

"Zephyr!" I said quietly.

The red-tailed hawk clicked his beak at me and nibbled on my ear affectionately as I stroked his feathers.

"That bird of yours id vicious, Lyra." said Theo jokingly, sitting down on the empty lower bunk. "Pecked us all half to death when he delivered your brother's message."

"And Hedwig did the same," said Ron in agreement. "Look at this -"

He held out his hand, and I saw that on his index finger there was a half-healed, though clearly deep cut.

"Oh, yeah." Harry said sheepishly. "Sorry about that, I wanted answers, you know..."

"We wanted to give them to you, mate." said Ron. "Hermione was driving us nuts, saying you'd do something stupid if you were stuck all on your own without news, but Dumbledore made us-"

"Swear not to tell us anything." I said, sitting down on the floor against the bed. "Yeah, Hermione already said as much."

"He seemed to think it was best," said Theo quietly, looking veery ashamed. "Dumbledore, I mean."

"Right." Harry said, still standing, his eyes suddenly looking very cold behind his glasses.

"He seemed to think you'd be safest with the Muggles -" Ron began.

"Oh yeah?" I said, looking up at him. "Have any of you been attacked by dementors this summer then?"

"Well, no - but that's why he's had people from the Order of the Phoenix tailing you sll this time -"

I felt a sudden rise in my anger. So _everyone_ had known Harry and I were being followed except Harry and I. Fantastic.

"Didn't work that well, though, did it?" said Harry, showing much more control than I by keeping his voice level. "Had to look after ourselves after all, didn't we?"

"He was so angry," said Hermione in an almost awestruck voice. "Dumbledore. We saw him. When he found out Mundungus had left before his shift had ended. He was scary."

"I still think _scary_ is understating it a bit, love." Theo joked in a failed attempt to lighten the mood.

"Well, I'm glad he left," Harry said coldly. "If he hadn't, we wouldn't have done magic, and Dumbledore would probably have left Lyra and I at Privet Drive all summer."

"Aren't you even a little worried about the Ministry of Magic hearing?" said Hermione quietly.

"No," said Harry, and to anyone else it would have looked like the truth.

I stood up, causing Zephyr to flutter a bit in order to remain on my shoulder. I threw him an apologetic glance and walked to the door. "Hermione, you mind telling me which room you and Sara are staying in? I need to put my things away."

The witch blinked in surprise at me, as though she'd only just remembered I was there. "Oh um -"

"Don't worry, I can show her." The stood up from the bed, ducking to avoid hitting his forehead on the bottom of the top bunk. "You can stay here, I'll be back."

"Oh, alright." she said, still looking a bit startled.

Once we were in the hallway, I dropped the pretense as I walked over to my trunk. "You could smell the argument brewing in there too, huh?"

Theo snorted and grabbed the other end of my school trunk as I balanced the cat carrier on top of it. "Any Slytherin worth their salt would have spotted that Gryffindor squabble a mile away."

I nodded as he started us up towards the second landing. "And you've probably had quite a bit of practice, living with the Weasleys this summer. How's that been, by the way? You never really said in your letters."

"It's been...interesting. Mrs. Weasley is really kind, when she's not being scary. She's made me feel completely welcome. Even convinced the Order that it really was okay for me to be here. Of course that means that every member of the Order now looks at me with pity, but it'd rather be safe than keep my pride intact."

"That's for Gryffindors anyways." I joked.

"Yeah." he was quiet for a minute before speaking again. "I know you're not really one for shouting matches, but I'd think you'd want to hear what's said in that particular argument."

I huffed as we reached the landing. "Harry'll tell me later. Besides, if there's one thing he and I definitely share, it's an explosive temper. And if he started shouting, then I would have too, and you know how I get."

He avoided my eyes and grimaced before nodding to the door to the left of us. "This'll be you. I think both beds were transfigured into bunks, since neither Sara or Hermione are allowed to have their own room."

I gave him a quizzical look. "Why not?"

He grinned at me as we set the trunk down. "Well, Hermione is mostly out of courtesy, since Mrs. Weasley trusts us both. As for Sara... Well, it's best if you knock on the door before you go in."

I frowned at him, still confused, and stepped up to knock sharply on the door before opening it.

The sight that greeted me was...uncomfortable.

Like the other room, this one had a gloomy feel, with high ceilings. There were two twin sized bunk beds, and three school trunks. However, what the other room did not have that this one did, was a very disheveled Sara Burke and an equally rumpled looking George Weasley.

Sara's lips were red, her blond curls were in chaos, and her cheeks were ruddy with color. Her shorts were riding up so far they looked like would tear if they were shoved back anymore, one of the straps of her tank top was falling off her shoulder, and the rest of the shirt was wrinkled, and looked like it had been pulled down quickly.

As for George, his normally straight hair was sticking up in nearly every direction, and like Sara, his lips were red. He also happened to be missing his shirt.

I could only blink at them.

Theo chuckled behind me. "See what I mean?"

I cleared my throat and shut the door again. "Well, I could have gone without seeing that."

Theo laughed again. "Hey, at least it wasn't anything worse. I honestly don't think they've gone past heavy make-out sessions."

"Theo!" I said, smacking his arm.

He grinned at me and shook his head. "George _is_ seventeen you know."

I glared at him. "I know that, and Sara is going to be sixteen in November, but that doesn't mean I need to be seeing _that_. How would you feel if you walked in on me and Dragon like that?"

He blushed a bit. "Point taken."

The door suddenly opened, and a blushing George stepped out (seems he found his shirt). "Good to see you again Lyra." he said, avoiding my eyes as he walked past us towards the stairs.

"It's safe to come in now." Sara said, blushing, but still grinning widely at me.

I smiled at her too and picked my end of the trunk back up as Theo grabbed his. We took it to the far corner of the room and had just set it down when there was a dull roar of anger that came from the floor below us. I sighed heavily, knowing that Harry had finally snapped.

"So I'm guessing bottling up your anger until you finally snap is a family trait?" Asked Sara dully, seeming to recognize my brother's muffled voice.

I rolled my eyes. "Nice to see you too, Sara."

She grinned at me. "Hey. Sorry about all this. I guess it's sucked pretty hard, living with those Muggles."

"You can say that again." I muttered as Zephyr removed himself from my shoulder and flew up to the top of a bedpost. "Mind filling me in a bit?"

"What do you want to know?" she asked, sitting down on the bottom bunk farthest from the door. Theo laid down on his back on the other one, his arms behind his head.

"Just give me the basics. And you can skip the whole 'Dumbledore told us not to' bit, you _know_ that'll only piss me off." I told her, opening my trunk and pulling out my potions equipment. I had a flush of gratitude when I realized that Harry had made sure to pack it all neatly so that nothing would get smashed. I set up the equipment on the hardwood floor, sitting cross legged in front of it.

"We really don't know much Lyra." Sara said, sounding deflated.

I was quiet for a minute as I started up my modified electric bunsen burner, setting the small cauldron over it. I got out the standard ingredient, dried lavender, and the mortar while the metal heated up and started grinding a large amount of the ingredients together with potion water to rehydrate it.

"How about something easy then. What _is _this place?" I asked, still intent on making the standard ingredient into what amounted to a creamy grey soup.

"Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix." aid Sara at once.

"I thought that the Order was disbanded at the end of the war?" I asked as I poured the ingredients into the cauldron before pulling out my lion fish spines.

"They reformed after what happened last June." Theo answered. "Dumbledore asked Sirius to round them up."

I looked up from the lion fish spines that I was currently crushing. "Sirius? Is he here?"

Sara beamed at me. "Yeah, he's the owner of this house. He gave it to the Order to use as headquarters."

I felt my brain go a bit numb. "This is...this is Sirius's house?"

Theo nodded. "Apparently it was the house he grew up in. He inherited it after his parents died. So it's been sitting empty for almost a decade."

"Do I even _want_ to know what nasty things have been hiding in a wizarding home after a decade of sitting empty?" I asked wrinkling my nose and thinking of the minor doxy incursion at Sara's house one year when we were little.

She gave me a look of understanding. "You don't know the half of it."

I shook my head in distaste before going back to the lion fish spines in the mortar. "So how many members are in the Order, anyhow?"

"A fair number. We've only met about twenty of them, but we know there are more."

"And Voldemort?" I asked, dumping the lion fish powder into the cauldron. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Theo flinch and Sara shift uncomfortably.

"We're not allowed in the meetings, Mrs. Weasley is really strict about that. We don't know the details, but we have a general idea." Theo said.

I frowned as I measured out three teaspoons of frogspawn. "I thought you just said you weren't allowed in the meetings?"

Sara beamed proudly. "Fred and George have invented Extendable Ears. They're really useful.

I gave her a weird look as I stirred the potion. "Extendable -?"

"Ears, yeah. Only we've had to stop using them lately because their mom found out and went crazy. Fred and George had to hide them all to stop Mrs. Weasley from throwing them away. But we got a good bit of use out of them before she caught on. We know some of the Order are following known Death Eaters, including Theo's dad, Malfoy, and a few others. Keeping tabs on them and stuff like that."

"Some of them are working on recruiting people to the Order." Theo interjected.

"And some of them are standing guard over something," finished Sara. "They're always talking about guard duty."

"Couldn't have been Harry and I, could it?" I asked sarcastically, crumbling up some dried nettle leaves in my hand and letting them fall into the now boiling mixture in the cauldron before adding a half cup of honey.

"Oh yeah," said Sara, comprehension dawning on her face.

I rolled my eyes as I turned up the heat and set the timer. "You really are a blond, Sara."

"Oh shut up."

I stood up and went to sit next to her as I waited for the timer to go off. "So what have you all been doing, if you're not allowed in meetings? You said you'd been busy."

"We have." Theo said dully. "We've been decontaminating this house. Its a magical vermin paradise - I got a nasty bite off a doxy last week. But so far we've managed to clean out the kitchen, most of the bedrooms, and I think we're doing the drawing room tomorrow."

"So there _are_ doxies here then?" I asked, sharing a meaningful look with Sara.

She nodded. "Mrs. Weasley thinks there's a nest of them somewhere in the house still. But there was a hive of glumbumbles in the kitchen stove."

Theo chuckled. "Franky was the one who found it. He was depressed for days after he ate all that treacle."

I grinned. "Franky? How'd you get him out?"

Franky was Theo's pet crup whom he'd been given as a gift when he got his Hogwarts letter. Crups are wizard-bred dogs that look like jack russells, except they have forked tails when they're born. When he was at Hogwarts, it was at the Nott estate with the house elves looking after him.

Theo grinned widely. "Narcissa got him out. Ole' Lucius went over there for a business dinner about two weeks ago and she went along. Smuggled him out for me. Mrs. Weasley said it was okay, so I brought him here. He's been having fun chasing doxies for us."

I smiled widely. "I'm glad. I remember you were worried about him. You really owe Mrs. Malfoy."

He gave me a somber nod of agreement. "It's hard to believe that she's Lucius's wife, she's such a kind woman."

I shrugged. "You know just as well as I that it was an arranged marriage."

He nodded. "But it's still incredible that she hasn't let him change her in the least."

"That it is."

There was a silence and then Theo chuckled. "For whatever reason, Sara's kneazle has really taken a liking to Franky."

I snorted and looked sideways at Sara. "Samwise is a weird cat, just like his owner."

"Watch yourself, Lyra, I might just set him on you."

"You would, wouldn't you." I said, rolling my eyes before looking meaningfully at Theo. "How does Franky like Hermione?"

Apart from the fact that they were very loyal to wizards and made great pets, a lot of Pureblood families would get a crup on the basic principal that they had a reputation for being rather ferocious towards muggles.

Theo beamed. "He loves her. He sits with her when she reads. It's funny yo watch, since he has to compete with Crookshanks."

I smiled, hearing the relief in his voice. "Well that's good to hear."

"Where is he right now anyway?" Sara asked curiously.

Theo shrugged. "Probably exploring the house with Samwise."

All of a sudden there was a thump at the door along with some scratching sounds. I rolled my eyes at the familiar sound as Theo got up to open the door. "Speak of the devil."

Samwise pranced into the room with his head held high, something limp hanging from his mouth. Trotting behind him was my own cat, Nath.

The kneazle walked over to us and regally laid a dead doxy at Sara's feet before jumping up onto the bed and settling himself onto her pillow to lick himself. Nath sniffed the 'gift' curious sort of awe before leaping into my lap, purring happily.

Theo rolled his eyes and left the door cracked as he went back to the other bed. "Cats."

I chuckled, watching in amusement as Sara gingerly picked up the doxy corpse by one of the remaining wings and took it over to the window so she could dispose of it. "Hey, they've got personality."

"They're assholes, as well as Doxy serial-killers."

I gave him an amused look. "Are you honestly going to complain about that second part?"

"Doesn't change the fact that they are. Dogs are a man's best friend, and cats are man's adorable little serial-killers. Plain and simple."

"You've got issues."

"You're one to talk."

The three of us all laughed, only to be interrupted by the potion timer. Sighing, I picked Nath up and deposited him on Theodore's stomach before walking over and sitting in front of the cauldron again. Turning down the heat I pulled out the moonstone and the daisy roots.

"Well, at least I've got enough to get back to this point." I muttered.

Sara rolled her eyes as she sat back down on her bed. "Oh no, what have people done to your potions now?"

As I measured out and sifted the moonstone, I told the pair of them about the botched potion from earlier tonight. Theo pulled a face when I mentioned the burns.

"Oooh, that's gotta hurt." he said wringing his own hands.

I nodded, now slicing the dandelion roots on the small glass cutting board. "Yeah, not fun."

"Well, at least the potion doesn't take long to make." Sara offered.

I shrugged. "Yeah, but I'm nearly out of frogspawn and standard ingredient. It's annoying. And I get the feeling that I'm not getting out of here any time soon to buy more."

"You could always ask Professor Snape to get you some, as long as you gave him the money for it."

I raised an eyebrow as I scraped the roots into the cauldron. "Snape's in the Order?"

Theo nodded. "He's here right now, actually, giving some sort of report. Top secret."

"Well it's good to see he's on our side this time." I murmured, closing my jar of moonstone.

Sara snorted. "Doesn't stop him from being a git. The way he looks at us when he sees us..."

"Bill doesn't like him either." said a new voice from the door. Looking up we saw George standing in the doorway.

"Hello again George." I said, smirking at him.

He nodded and went to go sit beside Sara, pulling her into his lap and propping his chin on her shoulder. She smiled at him. "Shouldn't you be off with Fred trying to listen in on that meeting?"

He huffed. "Mum's put an Imperturbable spell on the kitchen door. The Extendable Ears can't get under the door."

"Shame," I said, stirring the potion with one hand while grabbing the Lethe River water and leech jars. "You said something about Bill, isn't he still in Egypt?"

"He applied for a desk job so he could come home and work for the Order," he said. "Says he misses the tombs, but there are compensations."

"What d'you mean?" I asked, now slicing up the leeches before I could dump them in with the Lethe water.

"Remember Fleur Delacour?" smirked Theo. "She's got a job at Gringotts to _eemprove 'er Eeenglish -_"

"And Bill's been giving her private lessons." sniggered George. "Charlie's in the order too, but he's still in Romania, Dumbledore wants as many foreign wizards brought in as possible, so Charlie's trying to make contacts on his days off."

"Same goes for my parents," added Sara. "That's why I'm here. They've joined up, under the condition that I'm protected over here. In return, they make contacts in America."

"Couldn't Percy do that though?" I asked, pouring in the river water. From what I remembered, the third Weasley brother had been working in the Department of International Magical Cooperation at the Ministry of Magic.

At these words, however, the three of them exchanged darkly significant looks, then Sara spoke in a tense voice. "Whatever you do, don't mention Percy in front of Mrs or Mr. Weasley."

"Why not?"

"Because every time Percy's name's mentioned, Dad breaks whatever he's holding, and Mum starts crying." George said with an uncharacteristically ugly look on his face. "I think we're well shut of him."

"It's been awful for the rest of the Weasleys." said Sara sadly.

"What's happened?" I asked carefully, turning the burner down so the potion could simmer.

"Percy and Dad had a row." said George, hugging Sara tightly to his chest and turning his face so it was half buried in her neck. "I've never seen Dad row with anyone like that. It's normally Mum who shouts..."

"It was the first week back after term ended," said Theo, picking up the story. "We were about to come and join the Order. Percy came home and told everyone he'd been promoted."

"You're kidding?" I asked, feeling shocked. Percy had had the huge oversight of the fact that his boss was essentially missing and he hadn't noticed. The fact that he'd been promoted was a shock.

"Yeah, we were all surprised." said George. "Because Percy got into a load of trouble about Crouch, there was an inquiry and everything. They said Percy should have realized that Crouch was off his rocker and informed a superior. But you know Percy, Crouch left him in charge, he wasn't going to complain..."

"So how come they promoted him?"

"That's exactly what we wondered," said Theo, sitting up to make room for me to sit beside him. "He came home really pleased with himself - even more pleased than usual, mind you - and told Mr. Weasley that he'd been offered a position in Fudge's own office. A really good one for someone only a year out of Hogwarts - Junior Assistant to the Minister. He expected Mr. Weasley to be all impressed, I think."

"Only he wasn't." said Sara grimly.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Well, apparently Fudge's been storming around the Ministry checking that nobody's been in contact with Dumbledore." said Sara. "Dumbledore's name's mud with the Ministry these days, they all think he's just making trouble saying You-Know-Who's back."

"Dad say's fudge has made it clear that anyone who'd in league with Dumbledore can clear out their desks." said George. "Trouble is, Fudge suspects Dad, he knows he's friendly with Dumbledore, and he's always thought dad's weird because of his obsession with Muggles -"

"But what's that got to do with Percy?" I asked, feeling confused.

"Dad reckons Fudge only wants Percy close to him because he wants to use him to spy on the family - and Dumbledore."

I let out a low whistle. "Bet Percy loved that."

George let out a hollow sort of laugh, and Theo picked up the story. "He went completely berserk. He said - well he said loads of horrible stuff. Stuff like how he's been having to struggle against his family's reputation ever since he joined the Ministry, and how Mr. Weasley has no ambition, and that's why the Weasleys have always been - well - I mean -"

"Why we've always been poor." George deadpanned.

_"__What?"_ I said in disbelief.

"I know," said George in a low voice. "and it got worse. He said Dad was an idiot to run around with Dumbledore, that Dumbledore was heading for big trouble and Dad was going to get dragged down with him, and that he - Percy - knew where his loyalties lay and it was with the Ministry. And if Mum and Dad were going to become traitors to the Ministry then he was going to make sure everyone knew he didn't belong to our family anymore. And he packed his bags the same night and left. He's living here in London now."

I swore under my breath. Percy was the Weasley brother I'd had the least amount of contact with, and most of what I knew about him was hear say, but to think that he would say such a thing to Mr. Weasley, or so much as in front of Mrs. Weasley.

"I can only imagine what that was like for your mum. She's always been so proud of her kids." I said quietly.

"Oh, she's been in a right state." said George dully. "You know - crying all the time. She came up to London to try and talk to Percy but he slammed the door in her face. I dunno what he does when he runs into Dad at work - ignores him I suppose."

"But Percy _must_ know Voldemort's back," I said slowly. "He's not stupid, he must know your mum and dad wouldn't risk everything without proof -"

"Yeah, well, your name got dragged into the row." said Theo, giving me a furtive look. "Percy said the only evidence was Harry's word and...well...he didn't think it was good enough."

"Percy takes the _Daily Prophet _seriously." said Sara tartly, and the others nodded.

"What're you talking about?" I asked, looking at them blankly. They seemed to be eyeing me warily.

"Haven't - haven't you been getting the _Daily Prophet_?" Sara asked nervously.

"Harry does, why?"

"Have you - er - been reading it thoroughly?" Theo asked, looking uncomfortable.

"Not really. The most either of us does is glance at the front page. If the world suddenly came to it's senses and realized Voldemort was back it'd be splashed all over the front."

The others exchanged glances. Theo cleared his throat and spoke. "You'd need to read it cover to cover to pick it up, but they - um - they mention you and Harry a couple of times a week."

"But we'd have seen -"

"Not if you've only been reading the front page. I'm not talking big articles. They just slip you in, like you're a running joke.

"They're building on Skeeter's stuff." Sara explained.

"I thought she'd stopped writing for the Prophet?"

"Oh no, she's not. Hermione's seen to that." Theo said, looking a little proud. "But she laid the groundwork for what they're doing now."

"Which is _what_?" I asked impatiently.

"Okay, you know how she wrote that you and Harry were collapsing around the school and saying your scars hurt and all that?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well they're writing about you both as though you're a pair of deluded, attention seeking people who think you're both these great tragic heroes or something." Theo said quickly. "They keep slipping in these snide comments about you. If some farfetched story crops up, they say something like 'a tale worthy of the Potter twins' and if anyone has a funny accident or anything it's 'let's hope he hasn't got a scar on his forehead or we'll be asked to worship him next'. They're trying to make it impossible to believe you. And I'll bet anything that Fudge's behind it. They want wizards on the street to think you and your brother are just a pair of stupid kids who like being famous and want to keep it going."

I sat there stunned for a minute, then said quietly, trying not to shout, "Voldemort, _killed_ my parents. Harry and I got famous because that freak murdered my family and tried to do us in too. Who the _fuck_ wants to be famous for that? I'd rather be a nobody with a happy family. I'd rather be dead myself."

Before they could say anything, I swiped my potions timer off the floor and stormed out of the room.


	55. You are not my mother

Breathing deeply through my nose, and shoving the timer into my pocket, I pounded my way down the stairs. I didn't know what rooms were safe to go into, and the kitchen was obviously out of the question, so I settled for sitting angrily on the first flight of stairs.

Being isolated and waiting for the sky to fall was one thing, but being told that the rest of the world thought you were a total lunatic just made everything seem that much worse. Harry and I _had_ seen Voldemort return. My friends' lives _were_ in danger. We _were not crazy._

That was what I was telling myself anyway. It did very little to quell my anger, but it did help force my blood pressure back to normal and keep me from losing my head. I'd been getting much better at that over the last few weeks, since screaming at the Dursleys did not make for or encourage a pleasant living environment. But Merlin help me, I needed to hit something. Break something, throw something at a wall. _Something_. Otherwise I really would lose my mind.

Taking several deep breaths, I dropped my face into my hands and collected my thoughts.

The things I knew: 1. Voldemort had returned 2. The ministry did not believe us 3. We were all in danger 4. Harry and I were in serious legal trouble over the Ministry's decision to vilify us, instead of listening 5. My godfather was still a fugitive 6. The Order of the Phoenix was not letting Harry or I in on what was happening 7. Of my friends in the most danger, one was safe, one was a precariously perched neutral party, and one was in the thick of it, on the wrong side. It was like a grey scale.

The things I could probably guess were true: 1. The Order of the Phoenix was having to operate in the dark, to avoid the scrutiny of Fudge 2. The Death Eaters were probably doing the same thing while trying to avoid _our_ scrutiny 3. Those dementors were probably sent to attack us on Voldemort's orders 4. There was a very real chance that in a few days, I would be stripped of my magic, and thus be left defenseless against anymore attacks

The things I did not know: 1. What Voldemort and his followers were planning 2. What the Order of the Phoenix was planning 3. Why Dumbledore seemed so keen to keep my brother and I out of the loop 4. The purpose and aim behind the dementor attack 5. Why the Ministry was choosing to remain ignorant 6. How to protect my friends from things that I knew were out of my hands 7. How to keep my godfather from doing something stupid and getting killed or sent back to prison 8. What came next.

By now my breathing was stable, and screams of rage were no longer threatening to rise out of my throat. What bubbled out instead was surprised laughter, when a cold nose stuck itself in my ear.

Leaning away and giggling quietly, I looked over to see Theo's dog.

"Hey Franky." I muttered, smiling as I scratched behind his ears. "Long time, no see."

The little crup panted happily and licked my hand.

He was a very cute dog, I had to admit. It was illegal to let them keep their second tails for more than a few months after their birth, so he really just looked like a rough-coated Jack Russell terrier. He had back and brown markings around his ears and eyes, which I thought made him look like he wore a mask. I'd mentioned that to Theo once, the first time I'd encountered his pet, and he told me that Franky had come within an inch of being named 'Bandit'.

I scratched him behind the ears for several minutes more before I heard a door on the ground floor open. Peering curiously down the stairwell, I saw a familiar set of billowing robes. It took less than a split second to realize who I was looking at, and the next thing I knew, I was morphing, and pressing back against the shadowy steps. I didn't care if Severus Snape was part of the order, and it didn't mater that I admired his potion making abilities, I still couldn't make myself trust him. Not after seeing his dark mark. I'd never trust anyone with that brand.

A few moments after he left, several more people came out of the room, and in my distraction trying to look at them all, I didn't notice Franky sniffing my rear until his cold nose made contact with my butt. Turning around, I spat a warning, and he shrank back, his tail wagging faintly as he tucked it between his legs.

"Lyra dear?"

I turned to see Mrs. Weasley standing at the bottom of the steps, looking as though she were just about to start up them.

Morphing again, I smiled faintly at her. "I needed to get away from the others, sorry."

The plump witch shook her head. "No dear, it's fine, I was only surprised. I was just coming up to ask everyone to wash up before dinner."

I nodded. "Is it safe to go into the kitchen and use it's sink?"

She smiled at me. "Go right ahead, I'm sure everyone else will be down shortly."

"Ok." I said, pressing myself to the wall as she went up the stairs past me.

Morphing again, I trudged down the stairs, feeling oddly tired. I didn't even bother to keep my tail from dragging on the ground as I reached the ground floor and padded through the still-open door of what I assumed to be the kitchen, since that was where the meeting had been taking place.

This room was scarcely less gloomy than the hall from which I'd just come. Most of the light came from a large fire at the far end of the room, and I had to wrinkle my snout to keep from sneezing on the haze of pipe smoke in the air, which curled and hung like battle fumes, through which you could see the menacing shapes of iron pots and pans that hung from the ceiling.

At one end of the long table that had been crowded with chairs for the meeting, sat the familiar face of Mr. Weasley and his eldest son Bill, who had their heads together speaking quietly. Between them lay several lengths of parchment. Near the middle of the middle of the table lay what I would have supposed to be a pile of rags, had I not been able to see beneath the table to the legs that were attached to it. Beside the fireplace stood what I could only see as the silhouette of a pair of tall men, one of whom was leaning against the mantle and staring into the fire. It took very little time to recognize the one standing up straight as Remus, and process of elimination identified the other as Sirius.

Deciding that washing my hands could wait for a moment, I quietly walked across the room to stand beside Sirius and butt him in the leg with the top of my head. He jumped in surprise before looking down at me in surprise.

"Lyra?" he asked.

I looked at him blankly for a moment before lowering my head and pressing my shoulder against his leg. Once again I felt an odd tiredness, this time accompanied by a wave of melancholy affection.

"Lyra, is everything -?"

Whatever Remus was about to say was cut off by a crash, and then a loud screaming that came from the hall, causing us all to jump.

_"__Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers -"_

Sirius cursed under his breath and stormed out of the room followed closely by Remus, once in the hall I heard my godfather bellow. "Shut up, you horrible old hag! Shut UP!"

Morphing, and thus startling Mr Weasley and Bill even more, I crept back over to the door and peaked out to see the pair of them tugging at the curtains I'd passed before. Except, instead of the door I thought they hid, there was a screaming portrait of an old woman, she looked at Sirius with a horrified and disgusted expression.

_"__Yooou!" _she howled, her eyes popping out at the sight of him. _"Blood traitor, abomination, shame of my flesh!"_

"I said - shut - UP!" Sirius roared, and with a stupendous effort, he and Remus managed to force the curtains shut again.

The old woman's screeches died and an echoing silence fell.

Panting slightly and sweeping his long dark hair from his eyes, Sirius turned to look at the others in the hall, his dark eyes sweeping over the mass of teenagers and falling on my brother almost instantly.

"Hello, Harry," he said grimly, "I see you've met my mother.

I gawked, and so did Harry. "Your -?"

"My dear old mum, yeah." said Sirius. "We've been trying to get her down for a month, but we think she put a Permanent Sticking charm on the back of the canvas. Let's go to the kitchen, and out of sight, before they all wake up again."

"But what's a portrait of your mother doing here?" Harry asked, looking bewildered as he followed after our godfather.

"This is his parents' house." I explained as they walked past me. "Didn't anyone tell you?"

"No, who told you?" Harry asked, not at all surprised to see me already here.

"Sara and Theo."

I heard Mrs Weasley clear her throat, and Mr. Weasley, who'd gone back to talking with Bill, looked around and jumped to his feet.

"Harry!" he said, hurrying forward to shake my brother's hand. Again, I was ignored. "Good to see you!"

Over his shoulder, I saw Bill, who still wore his hair in a low ponytail, hastily rolling up the parchments left on the table.

"Journey all right, you two?" Bill called. "Mad-Eye didn't make you come via Greenland then?"

"He tried," said Tonks, striding over to help Bill and immediately knocking a candle onto the last piece of parchment. "Oh no - _sorry_ -"

"Hear, dear," said Mrs Weasley, sounding exasperated, and she repaired the parchment with a wave of her wand: In the flash of light caused by Mrs Weasley's charm, I caught a glimpse of what looked like a building's blueprints. Mrs Weasley had seen me looking. She snatched the plan off the table and stuffed it into Bill's heavily laden arms.

"This sort of thing ought to be cleared away promptly at the end of meetings," she snapped before sweeping off toward an ancient looking dresser from which she started unloading dinner plates.

Bill took out his wand, muttered _"Evanesco!"_ and the scrolls vanished.

"Sit down, Harry, Lyra," said Sirius. As we did, he motioned to the rag pile. "This is Mundungus, by the way."

The pile gave a prolonged snore and then jerked awake, mumbling sleepily. "Some'n say m' name? I 'gree with Sirius..."

He raised a very grubby hand in the air as though voting, his droopy bloodshot eyes unfocused. Sara and Ginny both giggled.

"The meeting's over, Dung," said Sirius as everyone sat down around us. "The twins've arrived."

I don't know why, but whenever someone referred to us like that, I felt an unreasonable surge of happiness. Probably because Harry and I had been apart so long.

"Eh?" said Mundungus, peering balefully at us through his matted hair. "Blimey, so they 'ave. Yeah... You two all right?"

"Yeah." Harry said.

"No thanks to you, apparently." I said flatly.

Mundungus fumbled nervously in his pockets, still staring at us, and pulled out a greasy black pipe. He stuck it in his mouth, ignited the end of it with his wand, and took a deep pull on it. Great billowing clouds of greenish smoke obscured him in seconds.

"Owe you a 'pology, for that."

"Save it." I said, holding up a hand. "I really don't care right now."

He looked affronted, but Mrs. Weasley drew his attention. "For the last time, Mundungus, will you please _not_ smoke that thing in the kitchen, especially not when we're about to eat!"

"Ah," said Mundungus. "Right. Sorry Molly."

"Moving on," I said, wrinkling my nose at the nasty smell that now hung in the air, even after he put away the pipe. "What's - huh?"

About mid sentence, I'd felt something brush against my knees, causing me to start a bit. Looking down, I saw Hermione's bandy-legged ginger cat wind himself around Harry's legs before jumping up into Sirius's lap and curl up. Sirius scratched him behind the ears as he turned, looking grim-faced, towards my brother and I.

"Had a good summer so far?"

"Hardly." I snorted.

"It's been lousy." Harry agreed.

For the first time, something like a grin flitted across Sirius's face. "Don't know what you're complaining about, myself."

_"__What?"_

"Personally I'd have welcomed a dementor attack. A deadly struggle for my soul would have broken the monotony nicely."

"Sirius." Remus suddenly interrupted, his voice sharp. The dark haired man turned to look at his friend. Remus didn't say anything, but tilted his head in my direction and gave my godfather a very harsh but meaningful look.

Sirius frowned, and glanced at me. I tried to feel my face from the inside out, and found that it was set in a sad grimace. I really hated dementors. I really hated dementors near Sirius. The idea of the guards of Azkaban finding him again made my chest hurt.

Regret flashed through the man's eyes.

"Sorry." he muttered, looking a bit cowed. Then he cleared his throat and went on. "You two think you've had it bad, at least you've been able to get out and about, stretch your legs, get in a few fights...I've been stuck inside for a month."

"How come?" Harry asked.

"Harry, think about it." I said sadly, suddenly feeling a rush of empathy and understanding for Sirius. "He's still a fugitive, so the Ministry's still after him. And Voldemort will know all about him being an animagus, because Pettigrew will have told him about it by now, so his big disguise is basically useless."

Sirius's face hardened as he nodded in agreement. "Exactly. There's not much I can do for the Order of the Phoenix... Or so Dumbledore feels."

"At least you've known what's going on." Harry said bracingly.

"Oh yeah," said Sirius sarcastically. "Listening to Snape's reports, along with all his snide remarks and hints about how he's out there risking his life while I'm stuck on my backside here having a nice comfortable time...asking me how the cleaning's going-"

"What cleaning?" Harry asked.

I wrinkled my nose in distaste. "Harry, do you have _any_ idea the kinds of things that an abandoned house attracts? More than just spiders, I'll tell you that. And in a wizarding home it can actually be kinda dangerous. I'll bet when they first got here, this place wasn't fit for human habitation."

Sirius nodded, looking dismal. "No one's lived here in ten years, not since my dear old mother died, unless you count her old house-elf, and he's gone round the twist, hasn't cleaned anything in ages."

"Fred - George - NO JUST CARRY THEM!" Mrs Weasley shrieked.

Those of us at the table turned around, and a split second later,, dive away from the table. Fred and George, who'd been asked to help their mother, had bewitched a large cauldron of stew, an iron flagon of butterbeer, and a heavy wooden breadboard, complete with knife. To hurtle through the air towards them. The stew skidded the length of the table and came to a halt just before the end, leaving a long black burn on the wooden surface, the flagon of butterbeer fell with a crash, spilling it's contents everywhere, and the bread knife slipped off the board and landed, point down and quivering ominously, exactly where Sara's hand had been seconds before.

The blond seemed to notice this, as her face went pale, and she wrung her hand as if to make sure it was in one piece.

"Sara!" George's face drained of color and he darted over to where she stood. He wrapped one arm around her, and grabbed her near-injured hand in his.

"FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE!" screamed Mrs Weasley. "THERE IS NO NEED - I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS - JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE ALLOWED TO USE MAGIC NOW DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO WHIP YOUR WANDS OUT FOR EVERY TINY LITTLE THING!"

"We were just trying to save a bit of time!" said Fred, hurrying forward and wrenching the bread knife out of the table. "Sorry, Sara - didn't mean to -"

But Sara, Harry, Sirius, and I had all started laughing. Mundungus, who had toppled backward off his chair, was swearing as he got to his feet. Theo was trying to hide a grin, and Hermione was looking at them in disapproval. Crookshanks had bolted under the dresser. Lupin just looked tired.

"Boys," Mr Weasley said, lifting the stew back into the middle of the table. "your mother's right, you're supposed to sense of responsibility now that you've come of age -"

"-none of your brothers caused this sort of trouble!" Mrs Weasley raged at the pair, slamming a fresh flagon on the table, spilling almost as much again. "Bill didn't feel the need to Apparate every few feet! Charlie didn't Charm everything he met! Percy -"

She stopped dead, catching her breath with a frightened look at her husband, who's expression had turned wooden.

"Let's ear," said Bill quickly.

"It looks wonderful, Molly." said Remus, ladling stew into a bowel of her and handing it across the table.

For a few minutes there was silence but for the chink of plates and cutlery and the scraping of chairs as everyone settled down to their food. Then Mrs Weasley turned to Sirius and said, "I've been meaning to tell you, theres something trapped in that writing desk in the drawing room, it keeps rattling and shaking. Of course, it could just be a boggart, but I thought we ought to ask Alastor have a look at it before we let it out."

"Whatever you like," said Sirius indifferently.

"The curtains in there are full of doxies too," Mrs Weasley went on. "I thought we might try and tackle them tomorrow."

"Please say you're joking." Theo moaned, looking horrified.

"Quit complaining." Hermione said lightly, rolling her eyes and dipping a piece of bread into her stew. After that everyone started talking again, chatting around the dinner table.

* * *

><p>Three helpings of rhubarb crumble and custard later and the waistband on my jeans was beginning to feel uncomfortably tight (which was saying something, as the jeans had once been Dudley's). I laid down my spoon in a lull of general conversation. Glancing along the table, I saw that Mr. Weasley was leaning back in his chair, looking to be in a better mood than he had been earlier, Tonks was yawning widely, and Ginny, who had lured Crookshanks out from under the dresser, was sitting cross legged on the floor rolling butterbeer corks for him to chase. My sister was yawning slightly, her head propped up on her hand, and kept pulling a timer out of her pocket to check it before shutting her eyes again.<p>

"Nearly time for bed, I think." said Mrs Weasley on a yawn.

"Not just yet, Molly." said Sirius, pushing away his empty plate and looking at Lyra and I. "You know, I'm surprised at the both of you. I thought the first thing you'd do when you got here would be to start asking questions about Voldemort."

The atmosphere in the room changed with the rapidity that I usually associated with the arrival of a dementor. Where seconds before it had been sleepy and relaxed, it was now alert, even tense. A frisson of tension had gone around the table at the mention of Voldemort's name. Lupin, who had been about to take a sip of wine, lowered his goblet slowly, looking wary. Lyra's eyes were suddenly open and staring intensely at our godfather.

"I did!" I said indignantly. "I asked Ron and Hermione but they said we're not allowed in the Order, so -"

"And they're absolutely right," said Mrs Weasley, who was now sitting bolt upright in her chair, her fists clenching upon it's arms, all traces of drowsiness gone. "You're too young."

"Since when did someone have to be in the Order of the Phoenix to ask questions?" asked Sirius. "Harry and Lyra have been trapped in that Muggle house for a month. They've got the right to know what's been happen -"

"Hang on!" interrupted George loudly.

"How come they get their questions answered?" said Fred angrily.

"_We've_ been trying to get stuff out of you for a month and you haven't told us a single stinking thing!" said George.

_"'__You're too young, you're not in the Order,'"_ said Fred in a high-pitched voice that sounded uncannily like his mother's. "Harry and Lyra aren't of age!"

"It's not my fault you haven't been told what the Order's doing," said Sirius calmly. "That's your parents' decision. Harry and Lyra on the other hand -"

"It's not down to you to decide what's good for them!" said Mrs Weasley sharply. Her normally kind face looked dangerous. "You haven't forgotten what Dumbledore said, I suppose?"

"Which bit?" Sirius asked politely, but with an air as though he were getting ready for a fight.

"The bit about not telling either of them more than they _need to know_," Mrs Weasley said, placing a heavy emphasis on the last three words.

Ron, Hermione, Theo, Sara, Fred, and George's heads turned from Sirius to Mrs Weasley as though following a tennis rally. Ginny was kneeling amid a pile of abandoned butterbeer corks, watching the conversation with her mouth slightly open. Lupin's eyes were fixed on Sirius. Lyra's eyes kept darting between the two adults, her face carefully passive.

"I don't intend to tell them more than they _need to know_, Molly." said Sirius. "But as they were the ones who saw Voldemort come back" (again, there was a collective shudder around the table at the name) "they have more rights than most to -"

"They're not members of the Order of the Phoenix!" said Mrs Weasley. "They're only fifteen and -"

"And they've dealt with as much as most in the Order!" said Sirius. "And more than some -"

"No one's denying what they've done!" said Mrs Weasley, her voice rising, her fists trembling on the arms of the chair. "But they're still -"

"They're not children!" said Sirius impatiently.

"They're not adults either!" said Mrs Weasley, the color rising in her cheeks. "They're not _James and Lilly,_ Sirius!"

"I'm perfectly clear on who they are, thanks, Molly." said Sirius coldly.

"I'm not sure you are!" said Mrs Weasley. "Sometimes, the way you talk about them, it's as though you think you've got your two best friends back!"

"What's wrong with that?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"What's wrong, Harry, is that you are _not_ your parents, however much you might look like them!" said Mrs Weasley, her eyes still boring into Sirius. "You and your sister are still at school, and the adults responsible for you should not forget it!"

"Meaning I'm an irresponsible godfather?" demanded Sirius, his voice rising.

"Meaning, you've been known to act rashly, Sirius, which is why Dumbledore keeps reminding you to stay at home and -"

"We'll leave my orders from Dumbledore out of this, if you please!" said Sirius loudly.

"Arthur!" Mrs Weasley cried, rounding on her husband. "Arthur, back me up!"

Mr Weasley did not speak at once. He took off his glasses and cleaned them slowly on his robes, not looking at his wife. Only when they had been replaced carefully on his nose did he say, "Dumbledore knows the position has changed, Molly. He accepts that Harry and Lyra will have to be told some things not that they are staying at Headquarters -"

"Yes, but there's a difference between that and inviting them to ask whatever they like!"

"Personally," said Lupin quietly, finally looking away from Sirius as Mrs Weasley turned quickly to him, hopeful that she was finally getting an ally. "I think it's best that Harry and Lyra get the facts - not all the facts, Molly, but the general picture - from us, rather than a garbled version from...others."

His expression was mild, but I felt sure that Lupin, at least, knew that some of the Extendable Ears had escaped Mrs Weasley's purge.

"Well," said Mrs Weasley, breathing deeply and looking around the table for support that wouldn't come. "well... I can see I'm going to be overruled. I'll just say this: Dumbledore must have his reasons for not wanting Harry and Lyra to know much, and speaking as someone who's their best interests at heart -"

"They're not your children." said Sirius quietly.

"They're as good as," said Mrs Weasley fiercely. "Who else have they got?"

"They've got me!"

"Yes," said Mrs Weasley, her lip curling. "The thing is, it's been rather difficult for you to look after them while you've been locked up in Azkaban, hasn't it?"

Sirius began to rise from his chair.

"Fuck you."

The words were furious, cutting, hateful. And they did not come from Sirius's mouth. Everyone turned to stare in shock at Lyra. Her face, which had been falsely calm moments ago, was now furious and hateful. Her eyes looked less like emeralds and more like acid. Her breathing was deep and controlled, and she was shaking, both signs that I knew meant she was refraining from screaming in anger.

"You are not my mother." she spat, causing Mrs Weasley's expression to falter, as everyone began to understand what lines had been crossed. "I _remember_ my parents being murdered. I could tell you what my mother's screams sounded like. I could tell you the way that the killing curse lit up the banister in our foyer as my father fell dead. You are _not _my mother. So don't _ever _pretend to be. And since you're in the Oder, I'm pretty sure you know damn well that being in prison was not Sirius's fault. So don't you _ever_ blame him for not being around for us. The moment he was out he did what he could for Harry and I. We are _his_ godchildren. _Not_ yours. So fuck you."

She sat quietly after that, staring hatefully at Mrs Weasley as everyone stared at her in horror. No one told her not to speak to Mrs Weasley like that. No one tried to comfort her. No one said anything. Sirius sat back down, and Mrs Weasley's expression went slack.

After several moments, Lyra blinked rapidly before shutting her eyes and swallowing thickly. She took another deep breath, this one shuddering, before morphing into the familiar form of a red-tailed fox. At this point, everyone relaxed a little bit, realizing she wasn't going to literally blow up. Without looking at me, she walked across my lap and onto Sirius's, where she curled up and stared shaking.


	56. Potions, Cleaning, and Haircuts

That night, we were not told anything about the Order. No one was. Not Lyra, not Harry, and certainly none of the rest of us. That conversation happened the next morning after breakfast. Except for Lyra and Harry, we were all sent upstairs to our rooms, and from what I understood it was a much quieter, calmer, though no less tense conversation. Naturally, despite being told not to, she told Theo and I everything; and I, in turn, told George, who told Fred. Harry told Hermione and Ron. I'm not sure who told Ginny.

Lyra apologized to Mrs Weasley that same day. She admitted that she'd been out of line, and that she regretted speaking to her in that way. The Weasley matriarch had accepted the apology with grace before giving my best friend a bone-crushing hug and giving her an apology of her own.

I didn't really get much chance to talk to her until Mrs Weasley put us all to work in the drawing room and were both given the job of clearing out the nest of dead puffskeins that was found beneath the sofa.

I wrinkled my nose at the smell as I picked them up. I felt awful for Lyra who was under the couch pushing them out from under it. When the last one was out she came back out, morphing back into a human, and looking ill.

"I think this is actually _worse _than the doxy incursion of '89." she joked hollowly.

I snickered as we stuffed the dead and slightly molding corpses into the waste bin we'd been provided with. After a moment of silence, I looked up at her. "Are you okay?"

She wouldn't look at me, but nodded. "Yeah I'm fine."

I shook my head. "I'm your best friend, remember? I know when you're lying."

Lyra angrily tossed the last puffskein into the bucket before speaking in a very blank tone. "What do you want me to say, Sara? That I'm upset? That I'm going mad? That I hate myself for being useless? Because none of that is going to get this room cleaner. All it _will_ do is cause more problems. And you know that."

Picking up the basket, she followed me out of the room. "Lyra, what I know, is that you let loose with some major crap last night. What you said to Mrs Weasley? That was some scary shit. And you only do that when you're getting bad."

Her shoulders went stiff, and she started walking faster. "I don't know what you're talking about."

I matched her pace, and lowered my voice. "The hell you don't. Have you even been taking your anxiety medication?"

She glared at me out of the corner of her eye. "I ran out of ingredients, okay? Being stuck at the Dursleys isn't exactly the best way to procure expensive potions ingredients."

"You could have owled me about it." I said.

"You wouldn't have gotten the right ingredients. We _both_ know that." she shot back.

"And what about Theo? Or Blaise? They could have gotten them just fine when we last went to Diagon alley."

Her glare intensified. "You really think I'm about to tell them I've got _any_ kind of anxiety problems? You know how they'd react, which is why you're the only one who knows."

"Why can you never just call it what it is?" I sighed.

She shook her head. "Because I'm not some battle-scared soldier who fought in a war. I'm a kid with problems. I can handle it. I just need to get to an apothecary."

"What you need is to let people in, or you're going to have another meltdown. Does Harry know you've run out of your anti-anxiety potions?"

She stopped walking. Which was not encouraging. Her glare vanished and suddenly she wouldn't look me in the eye. "Harry doesn't exactly...know I take them. Or that he did."

That caught me off guard. "Wait, what?"

She sighed and continued walking. "It's why I ran out so fast. At the beginning of the summer, Harry was more freaked out about June than I was. I started giving him a half dose of my medication until he was handling it better."

I shook my head. "Lyra that was wrong and you know it. And so is dragging him into your sleeping potion addiction."

"It's not an addiction."

"Lyra, any healer will tell you that Dreamless Sleeping Potions have an addictive quality, _especially _to patients that suffer from nightmares. In fact, when you were still seeing a healer regularly, that's exactly what you _were_ told."

"So what? It's not like it's going to hurt anything."

"That's bullshit and you know it. You're the one who wants to be a Potions Master, so you know better than I do that the side effects of that potion are latent sleep deprivation. You're going to run into the ground eventually. And that'll be sooner rather than later, judging by the bags under your eyes." I hissed as we exited into the backyard to deposit the basket of dead things onto the patio.

"Sara, I'll be fine. And I'm sure you'd not appreciate me waking you up with screaming every night." Lyra rationalized.

"Does Harry have a say in that?" I asked. Instantly she looked guilty, and I shook my head. "At least tell him, or else I go to Remus and Sirius. And if your godfather doesn't do anything about it, then we both know Remus will."

"Fine." she said irritably before storming back into the house to help with the didn't speak again until at least halfway back to the drawing room, at which point she cleared her throat and smiled. "So I see you and George are getting along rather well."

I rolled my eyes and couldn't help but blush. "You could say that. And also, whatever Theo told you was a lie. We have _not_ been shagging like bunnies."

Lyra snorted. "Well, he didn't quite put it like that..."

I chuckled. "Yeah, right. But in all honesty, I've actually been spending a lot of time helping he and Fred with their joke shop. I think they've got a real shot, especially after your brother gave them his winnings from last year."

The black-haired witch raised an eyebrow. "Harry gave them his winnings? I didn't know that... But I'm glad to hear things are going well. It's a shame Mrs Weasley found the Extendable Ears thought."

I grinned widely. "Those were my idea, actually. And she didn't get all of them. Right now we're working on the Skiving Snackboxes. They'll be a hit at school."

Lyra frowned. "What're Skiving Snackboxes?"

"A range of sweets that make you ill." I whispered conspiratorially. "Not seriously ill, of course, just enough that you can get out of class when you want to. I've been helping Fred and George develop them all summer. In between heavy make out sessions with my boyfriend of course."

Lyra pointedly ignored my sly wink and final comment and focused on what I'd been saying. "Isn't it some form of Ravenclaw blasphemy to be finding new ways to skip class?"

I snorted with laughter. "Probably. But I'm not really the classroom type, and you know that as well as I do. Anyway, they're all double-ended, color-coded gummies. For example, if you eat the orange end of the Puking Pastilles, you throw up. The second you run out of the lesson, you eat the purple half that makes you better again. But we've been having a bit of trouble getting our testers to stop puking long enough to swallow the purple end."

"Testers?" Lyra asked, looking as though she didn't want to know.

"Us, obviously." I told her, feeling my stomach go a bit queasy. "The three of us take it in turns. I did the Fainting Fancies, Fred and George both did the Nosebleed Nougat, which made their mom think they'd been dueling."

Lyra rolled her eyes. "Well I'm glad to hear their ambitions are closer to being realized."

I nodded excitedly. "They're already looking for premises. They put a running add in the _Daily Prophet _as of last week, so that for now we can the shop as a mail-order service until we get an actual shop with windows and shelves."

"What's this 'we' stuff? And aren't they worried about their mum seeing the adds?"

I grinned widely. "Mrs Weasley doesn't read the paper anymore, after all the crap they've written about you and Harry, not to mention Dumbledore. And Fred and George have decided, since I've been such a big help, and since my ideas are on par with theirs, they'll let me be a business partner."

Lyra gave me an odd look. "Business partner?"

I chuckled. "Well, the whole thing was their idea originally, so of course they're the owners. I'm not about to try and get in on that. But unless something changes, I'm going to be treated as an owner on all but paper."

"That's actually very pragmatic. Who's idea was that?"

"Mine again." I said, puffing out my chest a little. "Which is why I'm the one handling the money and supplies, and they get to be all super creative and not need to worry about it all. That way they don't end up swamped."

"More power to you I suppose." Lyra sighed as we re-entered the drawing room. Spotting the full bucket and the bowl of doxy eggs, she commented, "It seems that the Doxy genocide ended while we were away."

I giggled and nodded in agreement before walking over to where Fred, George, and Harry were standing. "What's the next project? Or do we not know?"

Harry pointed to the dusty glass-fronted cabinets standing on either side of the mantelpiece. They were crammed with an odd assortment of objects: a selection of rusty daggers, claws, a coiled snakeskin, a number of tarnished silver boxes inscribed with languages I didn't understand, and least pleasant of all, an ornate crystal bottle with a large opal set into the stopper, filled with what I was pretty sure was blood.

Lyra shuddered before saying dryly, "Oh, I'm _sure_ there's nothing cursed in there."

That earned a laugh from the rest of us, though I noticed that she didn't join in.

* * *

><p>Mrs Weasley kept us all working over the next few days. The drawing room took three whole days to decontaminate until all that was left was a tapestry containing the Black family tree which had been permanently charmed to the wall, and the rattling desk that we were not allowed to touch until Moody got here to look at it.<p>

After that, we moved from the drawing room to a dining room on the ground floor where we had found spiders as big as plates lurking in the corner. (I noticed that Ron had decided he needed a cup of tea right when we spotted them and he did not return for an hour and a half). The china, which bore the Black family crest and motto ('Always Pure' in latin) was all thrown unceremoniously into a sack by Sirius. The same fate was met by a set of old photos in tarnished silver frames, who's occupants shrieked as the glass broke over them.

The doorbell rang several times a day, cueing Sirius's mother to start screaming again, and for all of us not in the order, Harry and I especially, to attempt to eavesdrop on the visitor. Though we learned very little before Mrs Weasley shooed us back to our tasks. Snape flitted in and out of the house several times more, though I was glad not to have met him face to face yet. After seeing his dark mark last year, and with what had been happening lately, I didn't think I'd be able to remain polite if not neutral. I also caught sight of Professor McGonagall at one point, looking very strange in muggle clothing.

Sometimes though, the visitors stayed to help; Tonks joined them for one memorable afternoon when we discovered a murderous old ghoul lurking in an upstairs bathroom, and Lupin, who was technically staying in the house but was gone for long periods of time to do mysterious work for the Order, helped to repair an old grandfather clock which had started shooting bolts at people as they walked by. At one point we had to rescue Ron from an ancient set of robes which tried to strangle him when he removed them from their wardrobe.

Despite Sara's nagging, and me trying - though not very successfully owing to my cowardice - to ween myself off of the Dreamless Sleeping Potions, I was managing to actually have fun. When we weren't cleaning, Harry and I were spending time with our friends. We spent time, precious time, with our godfather. We joked, we laughed, we smiled. If we were busy, I was happy; when the action abated however, whenever I let my guard drop, or lay exhausted in bed as I waited on my potions to take effect, the thought of Voldemort, and of the fast approaching court date returned. Fear jabbed at me like millions of needles as I wondered what would happen if Harry and I were expelled. The idea was so awful that I never dared to voice it aloud. Voldemort's forces were massing, and they had to all be looking for a way to get at us, which was clear after the dementor attack. We needed to be safe, we needed to learn more about how to defend ourselves. And more importantly, we needed to help the Order.

I pushed the thoughts away as often as I could, but the Wednesday evening before the hearing, as I stepped out of the shower, something shifted.

I wrapped myself in my white bathrobe and stepped in front of the mirror. On the small vanity around the sink, Sara had laid out her makeup. It baffled me that she wore makeup every day like she did. Granted, it was never anything flashy, just something subtle to enhance her face, but other than George, she didn't really have anyone she needed to impress. She'd tried to explain it to me once, but I hadn't listened. I found myself suddenly wishing that I had.

I looked at the powders and liners and shadows that she had neatly organized around the sink. This wasn't even all she had and it was still more than I owned. I never really cared what I looked like. But now I found myself wishing I knew more about this sort of thing. I _did_ have people to impress tomorrow. I had people to win over. I needed to look nice, wear something pretty, paint my face a little bit maybe. I needed to find something to do with my hair other than my typical pony tail. Maybe curl it a little more than was natural for me? Straighten it? I knew Sara had a flat iron...

And then I stopped. And I stared wide-eyed at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. The longer I looked the angrier I got. What the hell was _wrong _with me?

A war was starting practically just outside the front door, and here I was, worrying about what I was going to wear to court. Worrying about if I should wear makeup. Worrying about my stupid _stupid_ hair.

I glared at my reflection, angry tears brimming in my eyes as I shook with fury; the next thing I knew, I was reaching for the hairbrush.

* * *

><p>Upstairs, there was a yell not unlike a war cry followed by a loud crash that sounded like breaking glass. Sirius and I exchanged concerned looks.<p>

"What do you suppose -"

But I was cut off by yet another angry scream. The pair of us stood up from the sitting room and bolted up the stairs where we met Theo and the Weasley twins also running up the stairs from a room on the second floor landing.

When we got to the third landing, it was to find Sara, Hermione, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley grouped around the bathroom door, trying to open it.

"Lyra's locked herself in the bathroom." Sara informed us as we neared.

"What on earth for?" Sirius demanded.

Hermione answered this time. "It was her turn to take a shower. We heard the water stop, and a few minutes later she started yelling."

"What was that crashing sound?" I asked.

"I think it was the mirror." Ginny said, looking worried. At this point, Mrs. Weasley, who had been knocking on the door and trying to get Lyra to respond to her, huffed in frustration after trying the doorknob again, only to find it was still locked.

"Enough of this." she muttered, drawing her wand and taking a half step back. _"Alohomora!"_

There was a click, and when the older witch tried the handle again, the door opened easily into the bathroom, and onto a sad sight.

The mirror was smashed, and from the hairbrush lying in the wreckage of glass shards, it was an easy assumption that it was the instrument that did the smashing. There were a few drops of blood on the floor, though not enough to have been from anything larger than a small cut. Bottles of liquid makeup, pallets of eyeshadow, eyeliner pencils, and various other kinds of makeup littered the ground on top of the glass, as though someone had violently shoved them off the vanity. The saddest part of the scene however, was not the mirror, or the discarded beauty products.

It was my sister.

She was sitting on the tiled floor, near the shower, wearing a bathrobe, and attacking her still dripping wet hair. Lyra had taken a large, jagged shard of the mirror and was in the process of hacking at her long black hair, attempting to cut it almost shorter than Sara's. The glass was digging into her hand and there was blood dripping down her arm onto the floor. In her frantic war with her hair, she had scratched her neck a few times as well, small drops of blood trailing down her skin to seep into her robe. Angry tears ran down her cheeks as her throat emitted strangled cries of unspoken feeling.

After a moment of shock, I darted forward into the bathroom and grabbed Lyra's wrist, ignoring the slick blood that was now coating my palm. I carefully dragged her hand away from her partly-cut hair, gently taking the glass shard from her hold. She was shaking, I now realized.

"Lyra, what're you _doing_?" I asked quietly, looking into her green eyes.

She looked back at me with a mixture of pain and anger. She shook her head minutely. "It's - so - stupid. And I-"

But her voice cracked, and she suddenly reached forward and pulled my into a hug, sobbing hysterically.

Because this was exactly what needed to happen the night before our Hearing.


	57. And the Stress that Comes With It

**The first half of this chapter is Lyra's pov. But since many of you have been asking about the lack of blond attractiveness, I tacked on some** **stressed out Malfoy and therapist Zabini to the end of the chapter. Hope you enjoy. Happy holidays everyone!**

* * *

><p>The next morning was as much of a waking nightmare as I'd thought it would be. Five in the morning, with Sara shaking me into the land of the living. For a few moments after I opened my eyes I just stared placidly at the ceiling before rolling over and descending from the top bunk above hers. I noted that she looked as tired as I did. Bitterly I thought that she deserved it for what she'd done.<p>

After my episode the previous night, she'd told Sirius about my sleeping potions. And he'd told Remus, who had told Mrs Weasley. The result was that every authority figure that had much control over me had agreed that taking them away was for the best. They'd allowed me to keep my Calming Draughts, but had mandated it to Sara to give them to me before bed. My nightmares had kept most of the people on this floor awake for most of the night.

"I hate you." I reminded her weakly.

She stared at me sadly, her blue eyes understanding. "I'm sorry, Lyra. But it was for your own good."

"I still hate you."

With a sigh, I dragged myself over to the bedroom door, off the back of which hung my outfit for the day. It was a granite colored T-shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans to wear under my freshly ironed byzantium colored robes. I reminded myself to thank Mrs Weasley for ironing them for me as I picked the hanger off the back of the door to bring it over to my trunk.

"I like your hair." Sara said in an attempt at small talk. All I could manage was a derisive snort in response as I slipped into my cloths.

After my melt down, Mrs Weasley had also fixed my mangled hair. There was no way to grow it back, so the result was a short, would-be bob style. My hair was too curly to let it lay flat in the more traditional style, so it ended up looking 'fashionably messy' as she had called it. I was just relieved that it meant I had noting I could do with it anymore. That way I literally couldn't obsess over it. I hated being so vain.

When I had finished dressing, I sat down on Sara's bed, and stared at the floor. Nath got up from where he had curled up in the oversized cat bed with Samwise to leap up onto my lap. Tiredly, I stroked his fur.

"Are you even going to try and talk to me?" Sara asked sadly.

I looked at her blankly. "What do you want me to say? That I'm afraid of going to sleep at night? Do you want me to sit here and cry about my feelings? Or about the hearing in a few hours? I don't know what you want, Sara."

She frowned. "I want us to go back to being best friends again."

I sighed heavily. "I wasn't aware that we'd stopped."

Sara shrugged. "Well, I mean, after you transferred to Hogwarts, I didn't see you for a whole year, and then last year when I transferred too, I got so wrapped up in making new friends, and you were so wrapped up in what was going on with the tournament that we didn't really have much time to be best friends. And now add to that the fact that I haven't seen you all summer, and the stress you've been under, and now this thing. Lyra you _know_ why I told Sirius. We already talked about this."

I shut my eyes for a moment. I did know why she did it, and I understood it. But it still sucked, and I was still mad. After a deep breath I looked at her with a small smile. "Sara, you'll always be my best friend. I'm just not particularly happy with you at the moment."

"I know." she said, looking at her hands. There was a long silence before she poked again. "Good luck today."

I snorted. "If the Ministry is as dead set against us as you say, I don't think luck is much of a factor in what's to come."

"You have a good case. They can't ignore that." Yawned Hermione as she sat up in her bed.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Good morning to you too."

She stretched tiredly. "Are you heading out so-" her question was cut off by a massive yawn."

I looked at the watch on my wrist, it was a quarter after five. "I'll probably head downstairs in a minute to wake Harry up before I head to the kitchen. Then I expect we'll head off to the Ministry."

"We'll see you when you get back then." she said, rubbing at her eye.

I nodded and lifted Nath off my lap and onto Sara's pillow. He opened one eye and looked lazily at me before returning to his nap. "You can go back to sleep, Hermione."

Nodding, she settled back down into her bed with yet another yawn. Sara followed me as I stood and we quietly walked out of the room, careful not to disturb the still slumbering Ginny. The stairs creaked a little as we headed down to the second floor. The boys' door was still open so I just had to push the door a little to get in. I had to stifle a laugh at the sight that I beheld.

Ron was lying sprawled on his back with his mouth wide open, fast asleep and looking as though he would fall off the top bunk at any second. Theo was laying peacefully on his back in the single bed with his arm thrown across his eyes, snoring lightly as Franky lay curled into a ball on his master's stomach. Harry was the only one of the three that didn't look silly. Curled on his side, his face was scrunched up and he was twitching in his sleep.

Walking over, I grabbed his arm and shook him awake. "Harry."

With a groan, he opened his eyes, blinking them owlishly at me. I took his glasses off the night stand and handed them to him. "You need to get dressed. We've got to go soon."

Remembrance dawned in his eyes quickly followed by fear. Nodding, he threw off the covers and grabbed the cloths set out on his trunk. Walking out to give him more privacy, I encountered Sara leaning against the twins' bedroom door.

"I'm gonna leave you two to it then." she said, coming forward to hug me. "Good luck girlie."

"Thanks Sara." I said, hugging her back tightly. She released me and walked back to the twins' door, quietly turning the handle. I gaped at her. "What're you doing?"

She turned and grinned at me. "I'm gonna go back to sleep."

I frowned at her skeptically. "In George's room?"

She grinned at me. "His bed is closer."

With that she slipped into the room and quietly shut the door. I rolled my eyes and silently wondered why I had thought that them together was such a great idea. Clearly he was corrupting her. The Sara of my childhood would never have so much as joked about slipping into a boy's bed. Then again, I would have thought the same way.

Harry entered the hall shortly after that, dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt. I frowned at him. "No robes?"

He glanced down at himself. "What's wrong with this?"

I plucked at my own robes. "It's not some muggle affair. You'll look like you're not taking things seriously."

"All I've got other than my school robes are plain black ones."

I shrugged. "That's fine. Not everyone wears bright flashy colors."

"Whatever." he muttered, disappearing back into his room for a moment before returning with a set of black robes over top his previous outfit. "Is this better then?"

I nodded and the two of us descended the stairs to the kitchen. I'd expected it to be empty, but when we reached the door I heard the soft rumble of voices on the other side of the door, an when Harry opened it we saw Mr and Mrs Weasley, Sirius, Lupin, and Tonks sitting there as though they were waiting for us. All were fully dressed except for Mrs Weasley, who was in a quilted purple dressing gown. She lept up the moment she saw us.

"Breakfast," she said, pulling out her wand and hurrying over to the stove. At the mention of food, my stomach gave a violent twist. I wasn't sure if I could handle eating anything right now. Though admittedly, the thought oof what was to come didn't make me as queasy as it had a few days ago. The waiting really was the worst part of this.

"M-morning," yawned Tonks. Her hair was blond and curly today, making her look a little like Sara. "Sleep alright?"

I saw everyone else at the table wince, and I tried to keep my face blank as Harry blandly replied. "Yes."

"I've b-been up all night." She said with another shuddering yawn. "Come and sit down..."

"What do you two want?" Mrs Weasley called. "Porridge? Muffins? Kippers? Bacon and eggs? Toast?"

"Just - just toast, thanks" said Harry as we sat down. Seems his stomach was nervous too.

"Just tea, please." I said tiredly.

"I can get that." Sirius said. "What kind did you want?"

I frowned at him. "What do you mean?"

He chuckled. "With how many people come through the house, we've got several kinds of tea stocked. It's nearly laughable."

I smiled in amusement. "Jasmine oolong then, if you have it."

He walked over to a cupboard and got out the teapot and a box of tea as Remus began to speak again. "What were you saying about Scrimgeour, Tonks?"

"Oh...yeah...well, we need to be a bit more careful, he's been asking Kingsley and me funny questions..."

I was glad that I wasn't required to join in the conversation. A creeping sense of dread was beginning to spread outwardly from my gut. With a deep breath, I laid my forehead on the table on front of me and breathed evenly until Mrs Weasley placed a plate of toast and marmalade in front of Harry and I before sitting down beside me and started fussing with my cloths. I batted her hands away and she descended on my brother instead. I didn't zone back in until there was the chink of delicate china right in front of me as Sirius sat my tea down.

"Thank you." I mumbled, picking it up and taking a sip immediately. I relished in the warmth that bloomed in my stomach as the hot tea slipped into it.

"Thank Kingsley. He's the one who likes oolong." Sirius said

A few minutes later, as Mrs Weasley attacked the top of Harry's head with a wet comb, she sighed in exasperation. "Doesn't it ever lie flat?"

"No." Harry and I both replied at the same time that Sirius and Remus said, "Probably not."

The four of us shared a smile.

"I think we'll go now." said Mr Weasley, checking his watch. "We're a bit early, but you'll be better off there than hanging around here."

"Okay." I said, draining my cup before getting to my feet.

"You two will be alright." Tonks said, patting Harry's arm.

"Good luck." said Remus, giving me a smile. "I'm sure it will all be fine."

"And if it's not," said Sirius grimly, "I'll see to the judge for you..."

I snorted at his joke as Mrs Weasley gave me a hug.

"Right, thank's Sirius." I said. "Well...see you later then..."

Harry and I followed Mr Weasley upstairs and along the hall. As we passed Mrs Black's curtains I could hear her grunting in her sleep. Mr Weasley stopped and unbolted the door before we stepped out into the cold grey morning of London.

Before we got far though, he snapped his fingers and turned around, looking as though he had only just remembered something. "You should both probably give me your robes. We'll be going through Muggle London, and they will stick out. I can shrink them and put them in my pocket until we get to the Ministry."

"You don't normally walk to work, do you?" I asked as I slipped my robes from my shoulders. It seemed absurd that a Ministry wizard would do such a thing rather than simply Apparate. Though at least it explained why he wasn't wearing robes.

"Not at all, I usually Apparate or use the Floo." said Mr Weasley, taking our robes and shrinking them as he'd said. "But the Order is still working on getting headquarters hooked into the Floo network, and obviously you and Harry can't Apparate. And besides that, I think it'd be best to arrive in the least magical way possible...makes a better impression, given what you're being disciplined for."

"That and it gives him an excuse to ride the underground." Harry muttered to me as we resumed walking. I smirked and elbowed him lightly.

I noticed that Mr Weasley kept his hand in his pocket the whole way to the crummy little subway station which was already full of morning commuters. It didn't take a genius to figure out he was holding his wand. The run-down streets we walked along were pretty deserted, but that didn't really make us any less uneasy. However upon being surrounded by muggles going about their daly business, Mr Weasley was obviously struggling to contain his enthusiasm.

"Simply fabulous," he whispered, indicating the automatic ticket machines. "Wonderfully ingenious.

"They're out of order." I said blandly, pointing at the sign taped to them.

"Yes, but even so..." said Mr Weasley, beaming fondly at them. I restrained a sigh. I truly did not understand the Weasley family patriarch.

We bought our tickets instead from a sleepy-looking guard. (It was decided that Harry should be the one handling the money, as Mr Weasley was apparently not very good at it, and he had more experience than I did) Five minutes later we were boarding an Underground train that rattled off to the heart of London. Mr Weasley kept anxiously checking the Underground map above the windows and updating us on the number of stops we had left.

It was actually kind of annoying.

We got off at a station in the middle of an area swamped with besuited men and women carrying briefcases. Up the escalator we went, through the ticket barrier (Mr Weasley was fascinated by the way the stile swallowed up his ticket), and emerged onto a broad street lined with rather imposing buildings, just as full of car traffic as the station had been full of bodily traffic. And of course Mr Weasley had to give us a heart attack.

"Where are we?" he said blankly. Though a second later he said, "Ah yes...right this way Harry, Lyra."

"Sorry," he said as he lead us down a side road. "but I never come by train and it all looks rather different from a Muggle perspective. As a matter of fact, I've never even used the visitor's entrance before."

The farther we walked, the smaller and less-impressive the buildings became, until finally we reached a street that contained several rather shabby-looking offices, a pub, and an overflowing dumpster. I had expected a much more extravagant location for such a place as the Ministry. I knew that in America, it's Ministry was located in the very center of Washington DC.

"Here we are," said Mr Weasley brightly, pointing at an old red telephone box, which was missing several panes of glass and stood before a heavily graffittied wall. "After you."

He opened the telephone box door.

Harry stepped inside looking very confused, and I stared incredulously at it. The phone itself was crooked as though someone had tried to rip it off. "I'm pretty sure this is out of order, Mr Weasley."

"No, no, I'm sure it's fine." he said, ushering me inside. It was a tight fit, especially as the man tried to fold himself into the box with us. I had to morph and stand behind Harry's legs to make room. We were pressed up against the vandalized telephone apparatus. Mr Weasley held the receiver above his head and peered a the dial before punching something in. "Let's see...six...two...four...and another four...and another two..."

As the dial whirred smoothly back into place, a cool female voice sounded inside the telephone box, not from the receiver in Mr Weasley's hand, be as loudly and plainly as though a woman were standing right beside us.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."

"Er..." said Mr Weasley, clearly uncertain whether or not he should talk into the receiver or not; he compromised by holding the mouthpiece to his ear. "Arthur Weasley, Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, here to escort Harry Potter and Lyra Potter, who have been asked to attend a joint disciplinary hearing..."

"Thank you" said the cool female voice. "Visitors, please take the badges and attach them to the front of your robes."

There was a click and a rattle, and I saw Harry pick up something from the coin return slot as the voice spoke again. "Visitors to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wands for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium."

The floor of the telephone box shuddered, causing me to yelp and press against Harry's leg. We were sinking slowly into the ground. I watched with apprehension as the pavement rose up around us, past the glass windows of the box until darkness closed over our heads. Then I could see nothing at all; I could only hear a dull grinding sound as we made our way down through the earth. After about a minute, though in truth it felt more like hours, a chink of golden light illuminated my paws and quickly overtook the rest of my small body, and I had to blink several times to keep my eyes from watering.

"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day." said the woman's voice.

The door to the telephone box sprang open and Mr Weasley stepped out, followed by Harry. I quickly scrambled after them, morphing as I did so, and trying not to gape at the sight before us.

"Here, your robes." Mr Weasley said, handing us our regular sized robes back, and pulling out a set of his own from his pocket. I took everything in as I slipped into mine and smoothed the creases.

We were standing at the end of a very long and splendid hallway with a highly polished, dark wood floor. The peacock-blue ceiling was inlaid with many golden symbols that were constantly changing like some giant heavenly notice board. The walls on each side were paneled in a dark shiny wood and had dozens of gilded fireplaces set into them. Every few seconds a witch or wizard would emerge from the left hand side with a soft _whoosh_ and a flash of green fire; on the right there were queues of wizards forming before each fireplace, waiting to depart.

Halfway down the hall there was a grand fountain. A group of golden statues, larger than life-size, stood in the middle of a circular pool. Tallest of them was a wizard with his wand pointing straight up in the air. Grouped around him were a beautiful witch, a centaur, a goblin, and a house-elf. The last three were looking adoringly up at the witch and wizard. Glittering jets of water were flying up from the ends of the two wands, the point of the centaur's arrow, the tip of the goblin's hat, and each of the house-elf's ears, so the hiss of falling water was added to the pops and cracks of Apparators and the clatter of a hundred footsteps as witches and wizards hurried to work.

"This way." said Mr Weasley.

We joined the throng, making our way through the Ministry workers, some of whom were carrying tottering piles of paperwork, others battered briefcases, still others reading the paper as they walked. As we passed the fountain, I saw several silver Sickles and bronze Knuts in the bottom of the pool. A small sign was affixed to the side of it, reading:

**_All proceeds from the fountain of Magical Brethren will be given to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries._**

Automatically I dipped my hands into the pockets of my robes in search of coins, but regrettably found nothing. I was distracted by Harry poking me in the side so I was unable to continue my search. Turning my attention to him, I saw him holding out a little square badge.

"This is yours, by the way." He said.

Taking it, I saw that it read _Lyra Potter, Disciplinary Hearing._ Glancing back up, I saw that Harry's was already pinned to his black robes. Doing the same and making sure it was visible, I smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks."

Mr Weasley lead us out of the crowd of Ministry workers and to a desk off to the side of the hall over which hung a sign that said **Security****_. _**A badly shaven wizard in bright blue robes looked up as we approached and put down his _Daily Prophet_.

"I'm escorting a set of visitors." said Mr Weasley, gesturing to the pair of us.

"Step over here." said the wizard in a bored voice.

I stepped up first and the man held up a long golden rod before passing it up and down my front and back. It vibrated and the wizard scowled at me. He passed it over me again, but the vibrating continued. He seemed to be looking for a particular spot.

"Hand over any magical items on your person." he finally said.

I frowned at him. "I don't have any besides my wand."

"Eric, the girl is an animagus. That's why it went off." said Mr Weasley.

The security wizard, Eric, grunted again before holding out his hand. "Wand."

I produced my wand and the wizard took it and placed it in a small brass device. It looked like a scale with only one dish. After a moment a slip of paper shot out of a slit in the bottom of it. Eric tore this off and read the writing on it. "Ten inches, beech, dragon-heartstring core, been in use for four years. That right?"

"Yes sir." I said.

"I keep this," he said, indicating the slip as he impaled it on a small brass spike. "You get this back." he handed my wand back to me.

"Thank you."

Harry then went through the same process, with the exception of the little detecting rod going off. His bump in the road came after the man handed him back his wand.

"Hang on..." and his eyes darted to the badge on Harry's chest, up to his forehead, and then to me.

"Thank you Eric." said Mr Weasley firmly, and grasping me by the shoulder and Harry by the arm, he steered us away from the desk and back into the stream of wizards and witches walking into the Ministry's gates.

As the three of them walked through them, I took a deep breath. It was do ore die, and I could only hope that we would live through this.

* * *

><p>I looked up at the sound of the Floo going off. I raised my eyebrow at the sight of a very upset looking Draco. With a sigh, I shut my book, and laid it on the coffee table.<p>

"What's happened now?" I said in a tired voice.

The blond took that as a reason to sit down heavily on the couch beside me and drop his head into his hands with a groan. He ran his fingers through his hair, his face set into it's now usual expression of mild panic. "Father's off to the Ministry this morning."

I frowned at him. "I thought he had off today?"

Draco shook his head. "He decided to go in anyway. Said he had business with the minister this morning. Wanted to talk to him about today's trial before it got started. You know he's going to do whatever he can to ruin Lyra and her brother's chances of getting cleared."

I scratched behind my head. "I know full well what he'll do, Drake. But if he catches you like this, then you're done for. If it weren't for that cover story we came up with at the beginning of summer, you would have been a grease stain on your mother's lovely drawing room carpet."

It was the truth, and we both knew that.

After Lyra had left us on the train that day, heading back to London, and after Draco had calmed down, I'd had the forethought to come up with an excuse for his father. In the end, Draco had told him that his dating Lyra had merely been a way to garner more good press for the family name. Even after the Skeeter article, since it would make the Malfoy heir look like a victim, and gain pity. However the lie was paper thin, and despite Lucius accepting it, Draco had still shown up at my home the next day with bruises, a split lip, and a few broken ribs. Even now, his ribs were only just finishing healing, even with magic.

"If Lyra isn't cleared today, she's going to be absolutely defenseless." he lamented.

I snorted. "I wouldn't put that into your next letter, she might just send you a howler. Lyra's a strong girl, and you know that just as well as I do. She's almost scary. Do you really think losing her wand is going to slow her down in the least bit? And you should realize that even if they do lose their trial, Snuffles _will _take care of them."

"But Harry is the one who dueled the Dark Lord. Harry is the one who faced the Basilisk. Harry is the one who fought off a werewolf. Lyra didn't do any of that. Lyra's never been in a fight like that before in her life. How can we be sure that she'll survive one?" Draco said, his eyes screwed shut.

I stood up and walked over to the table on one side of the room. Despite the fact that she was never home, my mother never bothered to have the elves lock up the whiskey, so the decanter was always full. Pulling out the crystal stopper, I poured two small tumblers of firewhiskey. Taking them, I walked back over to the couch and handed one to Draco.

"Lyra Lark Potter is one talented witch, with potential to be very powerful," I said, sitting back down. "That being said, I'll let you in on a secret. All women, young or old, are like tea. You never know how strong they are unless you put them in hot water. You're freaking out because none of us know the answer yet."

Draco eyed the glass I'd handed to him, setting it down on the coffee table before speaking again. By this point, he'd managed to reign in his emotions. "You're probably right."

"Oh ye of little faith." I quipped.

Shaking his head, my best friend gave me an odd look. "Would you quit that? You're starting to sound like a Huffelpuff."

I shrugged and nodded at the book I'd been reading. "Blame it on dear old William. My mother sent me a book of his plays."

"Who?"

I snorted, entirely unsurprised that he didn't know who I was talking about. "William Shakespeare. He was a muggle playwright back in the fifteen hundreds. He was actually pretty brilliant if you ask me."

"Not so brilliant if he's turning you into a sod." Draco joked.

I rolled my eyes and fixed him with a hard look. "Back to what we were talking about, are you going to be alright today?"

"Bugger if I know. I just want it to be over." The blond said, shrugging and sinking into the couch. "Any word from her? Or from Theo?"

I winced as he asked about Theo. Lyra hadn't sent a letter to me in days, but Theo had. And it's contents worried me. I sighed and took a drink from the glass in my hand. "Yeah. Theo wrote a letter late last night. Said Lyra's having a bit of trouble. Exploded and had a melt down, the way he told it."

Draco's frowning intensified. "What do you mean?"

I scratched the back of my head. "Well, she yelled at Mrs Weasley. And just last night she broke a mirror, and started crying for reasons that no one really knows. Theo thinks it's stress from a number of things."

"Brilliant."

I sighed. "I'm sure that when school starts back up, she'll be better. You and I will be able to actually be there for her more."

"You more than me." Draco grumbled.

I shrugged. "Well, that depends on if Lyra goes for that idea of yours."

He avoided my eyes. "I haven't actually brought it up with her yet."

I tried not to groan in irritation. I really tried. "Drake, you'll have to at some point. It was a bloody good idea, and you know it. You know Lyra wont take it the wrong way, especially if you point out it's the best opportunity to be together out of the eye of the public."

"But it'll sound...presumptuous. She'll think I'm trying to insinuate something and get mad at me." he groused weakly.

I rolled my eyes. "Lyra's not stupid. Inviting her to your rooms isn't going to fly off the handle at you for sound logic. Bloody hell, Drake, what happened to making things work? You do love her don't you? Or was all that talk back in June for nothing?"

His eyes snapped up to meet mine, the embarrassment and worry gone for the moment, replaced by what I could only call a silvery fire. "It wasn't for nothing. I'm in love with her and that's that."

"Then ask her about it." I said with exasperation. "What was the point of letting your father make the oversight to throw around his money and position to get you private rooms if you're not going to exploit it? The entrances to the Slytherin private dorms aren't even in the same hallway as the common room, no one will know if she visits you."

"And if we get caught?" He asked venomously.

"Then you can pull a Theodore." I snapped back. "Damn your pride, go with her instead of sneaking around."

"And abandon my mother?" He said furiously.

I shook my head. "That's not what I meant and you know it. But you can't protect her forever."

"I can bloody well try."

"Bloody's the perfect word for it though isn't it?"

Draco gave me a very cold look. "Sod off, Blaise. It's not your problem."

He might hate me for it, but sometimes it's the best friend's job to push the envelope on things that are and are not okay to say. I'd said enough though, anymore and he was liable to throw something at me. "I'm just saying, sometimes it's best to just let the pieces fall where they may. And always remember that life is nothing but a game of chance."

"I'm not a gambler, and even if I was, my mother's life is not something I'd use to bet." Draco said tiredly.

"And Lyra's affection is?" The blond wizard looked over at me with a mix of pain and exasperation in his eyes. I shrugged before picking my book back up and taking another sip of my firewhiskey. "Just food for thought."

After that, I went back to reading. A quarter of an hour later, Draco stood up, drained the tumbler I'd given him, and walked back over to the fireplace. Grabbing the floo powder, he tossed it in and stepped through the now emerald fire. "Malfoy Manor!"

"Good luck you moron." I muttered.


	58. The hearing

**Ok. So. I'm about to spit some hot fire of truth at you little shits. (To those of you who are not little shits, I love you and you're wonderful)**

**I got a flame in my PM this morning basically bitch ranting at me for stealing the harry potter stories and editing myself into them.**

**First of all, you sir, who will remain nameless, are an ungrateful little shit. Why the hell do you feel the need to bitch about something that's not even your business in the first place? Second of all I didn't steal a damn thing. Yes, some of the things in my story is shit I pulled from the books and movies. Yes, I added my own fucking characters to them. You want to bitch at me for that? Fine. Then you should also go bitch at literally EVERYONE ON THIS FUCKING SITE! IF YOU'VE GOT SUCH A PROBLEM WITH IT THEN WHY ARE YOU READING FANFICTION IN THE FIRST FUCKING PLACE?**

**Do you people, those of you who write/PM/comment hateful shit like this, ever stop to think about how hurtful that can be to us? All those jokes about how artists and writers don't like showing you their stuff unless they think it's perfect? Yeah, they're not jokes you dipshits. I myself am horribly self-conscious about the things I write. A big reason I sometimes go on hiatus is because nothing I write seems good enough. In fact, sometimes when I post, I ****_still_**** feel that way. There are several chapters in here that I would love to rewrite and make better or different, but can't because it'd fuck with the story at this point. So fuck you and your self-righteous bullshit. Be grateful for the crap we actually let you read.**

**And just to set the record straight, I did not base Lyra Lark Potter off of myself. **

**You know who's personality I did do that with though? Blaise FUCKING Zabini.**

**Wanna know why you little twats? Because I fucking wanted to.**

**Ask any writer ****_ever_****, writing is hard as fuck if you can't get into your character's head. This causes all of their characters to possess at least a tiny part of their personality. That's what's called a person's writing style. And yes, it happens even in fanfiction. I'm sure you've all noticed.**

**That being said, and in response to that person's hateful question, am I using excerpts from the books and movies as a crutch to hide my insecurity as a writer? Yeah, probably.**

**But you know what else? I'm literally halfway done with a separate fanfiction that is solidly of my own imagination. The only thing that even MAKES it fanfiction is the fact that it's my Dungeons and Dragons Character's super-detailed backstory.**

**And yes, I play Dungeons and Dragons. I also play Magic the Gathering. And at one point I played World of Warcraft and Guild Wars.**

**I'm a nerd. Fucking sue me. **

**Bitch.**

* * *

><p><strong>Ok, angry rant time is over. Enjoy the new chapter! Sorry if it's 'terribly written'<strong>

**P.S. For those of you following me as an author - Coming soon: Althaea Witchcrown**

**More on that later.**

**Enjoy! Merry Christmas!**

* * *

><p>"You're late." said a cold voice as Harry and I walked side by side into the courtroom.<p>

I tried not to sound frustrated. "We were only just informed that the time had changed. Seems that we missed your owl this morning."

"That is not the Wizenagmot's fault." said the voice. "Take your seats."

My eyes dropped with my stomach. Two chairs sat in the center of the room, the arms of which were covered in chains. As if the courtroom wasn't creepy enough looking. I had no trouble imagining the criminals that they must have reserved this room for. Not only were they trying to screw us over in timing and appearance, they were demeaning us with this. And considering the number of Wizenagmot members present, I got the feeling that there were hardly any missing from their ranks today. I wanted to shout at them what the meaning of all this was, but I knew damn well what the real answer was.

As Harry and I strode towards the chairs, I took the opportunity to take a closer look at the wizards present. In all, there were about fifty of them, all wearing plum-colored roses with an elaborately worked silver _W_ on the left hand side of the chest, and all staring down their noses at us; some with austere expressions, others with looks of frank curiosity.

In the very middle of the front row sat Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic. The sight of him made my stomach turn unpleasantly. They really did intend to screw us over, didn't they? A broad, square-jawed witch with very short grey hair sat on Fudge's left; she wore a monocle and looked very forbidding. On Fudge's right was another witch, but she was sitting so far back on the bench that her face was in shadow.

"Very well," said Fudge. "The two accused being present - finally - let us begin. Are you ready?"

"Yes sir," said an eager voice that I recognized. Ron's brother Percy was sitting at the very end of the front bench. Behind his horn-rimmed glasses, his Weasley blue eyes were fixed on the parchment in front of him, a quill poised in his hand. I felt a rush of disgust and pity. The fool didn't even realize he was being used; far too concerned with trying to climb up through the Ministry's ranks.

"Disciplinary hearing of the twelfth of August," said Fudge in a ringing voice, and Percy began taking notes at once. "into offenses committed under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, the Decree of Registration of Animagi, and the International Statute of Secrecy by Harry James Potter and Lyra Lark Potter, residents at number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Delores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Court Scribe, Percy Ignatius Weasley -"

"Witness for the defense, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore," said a quiet voice from behind us, making me turn around so fast, I felt the joints in my neck pop.

Dumbledore himself was striding serenely across the room wearing long midnight-blue robes and a perfectly calm expression. His long silver hair and beard gleamed in the torchlight as he drew level with my brother and I, looking up at Fudge through the half-moon spectacles that rested halfway down his very crooked nose.

The members of the Wizenagmot were muttering. All eyes were now on the headmaster. Some looked annoyed while others looked mildly frightened; two elderly witches in the back row, however, raised their hands and waved in welcome.

"Ah," said Fudge, who looked thoroughly disconcerted. Idly I wondered if all the drama about the time and place being changed was not because of _us_ so much as because of Dumbledore being her to support us. "Dumbledore. Yes. You - er - got our - er - message that the time and - er - place of the hearing had changed, then?"

_If he says 'er' one more time I'm going to throw something at him for wasting our time._ I thought irritably. This was such hippogriff shit.

"I must have missed it," Dumbledore replied pleasantly, "However, due to a lucky mistake, I arrived at the Ministry three hours early. So no harm done."

"Yes - well - I suppose we'll need another chair - I - Weasley, could you -?"

"Not to worry, not to worry," said Dumbledore cheerfully; he took out his wand, gave it a little flick, and a squashy armchair appeared out of nowhere on Harry's other side. Dumbledore sat down and put his fingertips together, peering at Fudge over the top of them with an expression of polite interest. The Wizenagmot was still muttering and fidgeting restlessly; only when the Minister spoke again did they settle back down.

"Yes," said Fudge, shuffling his notes. "Well, then. So. The charges. Yes."

He extracted two sheets of parchment from the pile before him, took a deep breath and read, "The charges against the accused are as follows: That they did knowingly, deliberately, and in full awareness of the illegality of their actions, having received previous written warning from the Ministry of Magic on a similar charge, both produced a Patronus Charm in a Muggle-inhabited area, in the presence of a Muggle, on August second at twenty-three minutes past nine, which constitutes a second offense under paragraph C of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, and also under section thirteen of the International Confederation of Wizards' Statute of Secrecy. As to the singular offense committed by Lyra Lark Potter against the Decree for the Animagi Registration, that she failed to present herself to the Ministry upon acquiring the ability to transform as an animagus."

I suddenly felt my blood boil. The reason behind the Animagi Registry was to monitor the process of becoming an animagus, because of the amount of things that could go wrong. I'd been born this way, and my foster parents had spoken with the American registry when I was little. Owing to my circumstances, I was not required to submit myself to the registration board. There was even documentation. This was a botched attempt to further discredit me.

"You are Harry James Potter and Lyra Lark Potter, of number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey?" Fudge said, glaring at us over the top of his parchment.

"Yes." Harry responded.

"You received an official warning from the Ministry of Magic for using illegal magic three years ago, did you not?"

"I did, but -"

"And yet you both conjured a Patronus on the night of the second of August?" said Fudge.

"We did," I said, controlling my voice. "But-"

"Knowing that you are permitted to do magic outside of school while you are under the age of seventeen?"

I heard Harry sigh beside me "Yes, but -"

"Knowing that you were in an area full of Muggles?

"Yes, but -"

"Fully aware that you were in close proximity to a Muggle at the time?"

"_Yes,_" I said angrily. "but we only did it because we were -"

The witch with the monocle on Fudge's left overrode me in a booming voice. "You both produced a fully fledged Patronus?"

"Yes," I said, still trying to get out more than one word. "because -"

"A corporeal Patronus?"

"A - what?" said Harry. I suppressed a groan.

"The Patronus had clearly defined forms? I mean to say, it was more than just vapor or smoke?"

"Yes," said Harry, sounding impatient. "Mine is always a stag, and Lyra's has always been a fox."

"Always?" boomed Madame Bones. "You've both produced a Patronus before now?"

"_Yes._" I said in exasperation. "We've been able to for over a year now because we -"

"And you're both only fifteen years old?"

"Yes, and -"

"You learned this at school?"

"Yes, Professor Remus Lupin taught us in third year, _because_ of the -"

"Was he also the one who trained you to become an animagus?"

I didn't bother to restrain my glare as I growled out my answer. "I'm getting really tired of having to explain this to people. I. Was. Born. Like. This. No, I don't know why. No one trained me, I didn't do it on my own. I've been able to morph into a fox since infancy."

"That's not possible." She said dismissivly.

"Then check with the American Ministry of Magic! They have records and documentation stating _why_ I'm not on the Registry."

"And your Patronus form is the same as your animagus form?" she pressed.

I stared at her openmouthed. This woman only seemed to be hearing every other thing I said. Harry answered for me. "Yes."

"Impressive." said Madame Bones. "A true Patronus at their age... Very impressive indeed."

Some of the witches and wizards around her were muttering again; a few nodded, and some frowned and shook their heads.

"It's not a question of how impressive the magic was," said Fudge in a testy voice. "In fact, the more impressive the worse it is, I would have thought, given that they did it in plain view of a Muggle! And you, young lady,"

I glared right back at Fudge as he peered nastily at me. "The charges against you still stand. It is impossible that you were simply _born_ as an animagus. Such a blatant lie in my courtroom will not be tolerated."

As I sat fuming with anger, I saw how those who had been frowning were now murmuring in agreement. I also saw Percy give a sanctimonious little nod. However this seemed to goad my brother into speaking again.

"We did it because of the dementors!" he said loudly before anyone could interrupt him. I expected more muttering, but the silence that fell seemed denser than it had been before.

"Dementors?" said Madame Bones after a moment, rising her eyebrows so that her monocle looked in danger of falling out. "What do you mean, boy?"

"What he means," I said, trying not to sound as waspish as I felt. "is that two of the guards of Azkaban, _dementors_, were down that alleyway that night, going after my brother, my cousin, and I."

"Ah," said Fudge again, smirking unpleasantly as he looked around at the Wizenagmot, as though inviting them to share in the joke. "Yes. Yes, I thought we'd be hearing something like this. Very clever little cover story indeed. Muggles can't see dementors, can they, girl? Highly convenient...so it's just your word and the only witnesses are you and your brother..."

"We're not lying!" said Harry loudly, over another outbreak of muttering from the court. "There were two of them, coming from opposite ends of the alley -"

"Enough, enough!" said Fudge with a supercilious look on his face. "I'm sorry to interrupt what I'm sure would have been a very well-rehearsed story, but as the accused can produce no witnesses of the event -"

Dumbledore cleared his throat. The Wizenagmot fell silent again.

"We do, in fact, have a witness to the presence of dementors in that alleyway," he said. "other than Dudley Dursley, I mean."

Fudge's plump face seemed to slacken as though his brain had suddenly ceased to function. I tried very valiantly not to smirk in satisfaction, even if I wasn't sure what Dumbledore was talking about. See? Valiant. I_ so_ could have been a Gryffindor.

Fudge stared down at Dumbledore for a moment or two, then,with the appearance of a man trying to pull himself back together, said. "We haven't got time for anymore nonsense, I'm afraid, Dumbledore. I want this dealt with quickly -"

"Screw us out of all our chances, more like..." I grunted to Harry.

"What was that, girl?" Snapped fudge.

I flashed him a sugar sweet smile. "Oh nothing, Minister. I was just commenting to my brother how it seems that we're to be denied our rights. After all, the Wizenagmot Charter of Rights in America states that the accused has the right to present witnesses for his or her case. Is that not the rule here in Great Britain, Professor Dumbledore?"

I leaned forward to smile more genuinely at the man two seats over from me. The old wizard nodded pleasantly, though still would not look at me. "I believe it at is indeed the correct policy. What would you say, Madame Bones?" he added, addressing the witch with the monocle.

"True," said Madame Bones, eyeing me with a renewed interest. "Perfectly true."

"Oh, very well, very well." snapped Fudge. "Where is this person?"

"I brought her with me," said Dumbledore. "She's just outside the door. Should I -?"

"No - Weasley, you go." Fudge barked at Percy, who got up at once, hurried down the stone steps from the judge's balcony, and hastened past Dumbledore, Harry, and I without glancing at us.

A moment later, Percy returned, followed by the old woman who I remembered was called Mrs. Figg. She looked more frightened and batty than the night I'd met her. Idly, I wished that she'd thought to change out of her carpet slippers. Even Harry looked more presentable than she did.

Dumbledore stood up and gave Mrs Figg his chair, conjuring another one for himself. Though this one didn't look quite as squashy. Did they get less and less comfortable the more you cast the spell without breaking it?

"Full name?" said Fudge loudly, as soon as Mrs Figg had perched herself nervously on the very edge of her seat.

"Arabella Doreen Figg." she said in a quavery voice.

"And who exactly are you?" asked Fudge in a bored and lofty voice.

"I'm a resident of Little Whinging, close to where Harry and Lyra Potter live." said Mrs Figg.

"We have no record of nay witches or wizards living in Little Whinging other than Harry Potter and Lyra Potter." said Madame Bones at once. "That situation has been closely monitored, given...given past events."

"I'm a Squib." said Mrs Figg. "So you wouldn't have me registered, would you?"

"Incidentally, however," I said, knowing that Fudge was about to try and place her under suspicion. "You might have her residence with the licensing office for kneazle permits. She breeds them."

I felt a smug sort of satisfaction for remembering my short conversation with the woman, and that feeling grew as I got a venomous glare from the Minister before he went back to looking at Mrs Figg. "We'll be checking that. You'll leave the details of your parentage with my assistant, Weasley. Now, what is your story?"

"My story, sir?" she asked, not seeming to understand the question. I tried not to wince.

"Describe the attack." said Madame Bones, narrowing her eyes so that the edges of her monocle disappeared into her flesh.. "What did they look like?"

"Oh, well, one was rather large, and the other rather skinny. The girl was -"

"Not the children," said Fudge irritably. "The dementors."

"Oh," she said again, patches of pink appearing on her cheeks. "Um, big, cloaked... And then... Everything went cold. It was a warm summer night but I was freezing. It felt as though...as though all the happiness had gone from the world... And I could remember...oh...dreadful things..."

Her voice shook before dieing altogether.

Madame Bones's eyes widened slightly. My heart lifted a little. That part at least sounded convincing. But merlin help us, this woman was not making for a very good witness.

"What did the dementors do?" asked Madame Bones.

"They went after the teenagers," said Mrs Figg, her voice stronger and more confident now, the pink flush from before nearly gone. "One of the boys had fallen. Lyra was backing away trying to repel the dementor. She tried twice and only produced silver vapor. On her third attempt, she produced a patronus, which attacked the dementor. By then, Harry had found his wand and had summoned his own patronus. With their encouragement, both spells chased away the second dementor from their cousin. The stag disappeared and the little fox stood guard over their cousin until Harry and Lyra got to him, then it disappeared. And that...that was what happened." Mrs Figg finished somewhat lamely.

Madame Bones looked down at Mrs Figg in silence, while Fudge fidgeted with his papers.

"Now see here," he said after a moment. "Dementors don't just _wander_ into a Muggle suburb and _happen_ across a wizard. The odds are astronomical!"

"I don't think that anyone would believe that the Dementors were there by accident, Minister." Dumbledore said gravely.

For the first time since the beginning of the hearing, the witch to the right of the minister leaned forward so that I could see her for the first time. To be frank, she looked like a very large, pale toad, crossed with a female Uncle Vernon.

"The chair recognizes Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister," said Fudge.

The witch spoke in a fluttery, girlish, high-pitched voice that caught me off guard. I was expecting a croak.

"I'm sure I must have misunderstood you, Professor Dumbledore," she said with a simper that left her big round eyes as cold as they had been moments ago. "So silly of me, but it _sounded_, for a moment, as though you were suggesting that the Ministry ordered the attack on these children!"

"Well that would be disturbing indeed, Madame, but I do not think that is the case." Dumbledore went on. "It is possible however, that the dementors in question were acting outside of the Ministry's control."

"There are no dementors outside the Ministry's control!" snapped Fudge, who turned brick red.

Dumbledore inclined his head in a little bow. "Then I'm sure that the Ministry will be launching a full inquiry as to why two dementors were so very far from Azkaban and why they attacked without authorization."

"It's not for you to decide what the Ministry does or does not do, Dumbledore!" snapped Fudge, now a shade of magenta that I'm sure our uncle would have been proud of.

"Of course it isn't." said Dumbledore mildly. "I was simply stating my confidence that this matter will not go uninvestigated."

"I would remind everyone that the behavior of these dementors, if indeed they are not figments of the children's imagination, is not the subject of this hearing!" Fudge said angrily.

"Very well." Dumbledore said.

I cleared my throat, trying not to sound too angry. "In the matter of our so-called offenses against the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, I know for a fact that the dementors _are_ relevant, Minister."

Fudge glared at me cruelly, but I kept going. "There is a clause in the Decree that magic may be used before muggles or outside of school in exceptional circumstances, as those circumstances include situations that threaten the life - or in this case the very soul - of the witch or wizard themselves, or witches, wizards, or even Muggles, present at the time of the -"

"We are familiar with clause seven, thank you very much, girl! However, you should realize that even if that clause holds to you, _you_ are still going to Azkaban! The law is very clear about unregistered Animagi running about the country!" snarled Fudge.

"That matter has already been addressed, Minister," said Dumbledore. "But I presume we are all in agreement that Harry and Lyra's use of the Patronus Charm in these circumstances does not break the Decree?"

"Laws can be changed if necessary!" snapped the Minister primly.

"Clearly, as it is also clearly necessary to hold a full criminal trial for a circumstance of underage magic!" replied Dumbledore, causing Fudge to turn a slightly deeper shade of puce. "And as to the matter of Lyra's lack of registration as an animagus, as you have already been told, if you has simply checked with the American branch of the Ministry of Magic, you would have found all the proper documentation. That being said, and as it is not the court's job to punish Harry and Lyra for every bit of magic they have ever preformed, the pair of them have been charged with specific offenses, and they have presented their defense. All we can do now is await your verdict."

I leaned forward and dropped my head into my hands. Azkaban. Gods above, I didn't know how Sirius had survived, and I knew I certainly wouldn't. Between my nightmares, my vulnerability to dementors, and being surrounded by Death Eaters, I'd lose my mind within a week of being sent there.

Several minutes seemed to go buy, and then Madame Bones's voice boomed around the dungeon once more. "Those in favor of conviction?"

I didn't look up. I felt as though an anvil were bearing down on me. And my head was beginning to pound. Why did that always have to happen? My anxiety attack yesterday had figuratively cleared out my sinuses, so why was I suddenly having trouble breathing?

"Those in favor of clearing the witnesses of all charges?"

I hadn't made a very good impression. At best they thought I was a snarky disrespectful teenage girl with a nose for law books and trouble. Harry had barely said anything at all. We should have better explained ourselves. Why was the hearing over so quickly?"

Fudge's voice broke through the beginnings of a second panic attack. "Cleared of all charges."

My eyes snapped open and I looked up so fast I'm surprised my neck didn't break. What had he said?  
>"Excellent!" said Dumbledore briskly, springing to his feet. "Well, I must be getting along! Good day to you all."<p>

And without once looking at Harry or I, he swept from the dungeon.

Harry and I looked at each other grinning madly. Standing up we hugged tightly, and I thanked our lucky stars that we'd dodged this particular bullet.


	59. Ploy

I didn't breath freely until we had left the courtroom. And when I did, flinging myself into the corridor, I almost collided with Mr Weasley who was standing right outside and looking apprehensive.

"Dumbledore didn't say -"

"Cleared." I breathed, grinning madly as Harry came out behind me, shutting the door into the courtroom.

"Of all charges." he added.

Beaming, Mr Weasley seized our shoulders and laughed triumphantly.

"That's wonderful! Well, of course they couldn't have found you guilty, what with the evidence you had. But I can't deny that I was starting to wonder -" He broke off as the courtroom door opened again and the Wizenagmot began filling out. We three stepped aside to let them all pass. "Merlin's beard. You were tried by the full court?"

"That's what Dumbledore said." Harry responded lowly.

As the last of them walked off, Mr Weasley began speaking again. "Unfortunately, you'll have to go home without me. I've got to deal with a regurgitating toilet in Bethnal Green. I'll simply have to drop you off. Come on..."

"A regurgitating toilet? What's that about?" Harry asked curiously as we began walking back towards the elevators.

"It's muggle baiting, I'd bet." I said, looking to Mr Weasley for confirmation.

"Correct. It's a serious problem. Some wizards might find it funny, but it's an expression of something much deeper and nastier, I for one -" The elder wizard broke off in mid-sentence. We had just turned a corner into a corridor, and Cornelius Fudge was standing a few feet from us, just outside the door of an office who's door was ajar. Standing and speaking with him, his hand on the office doorknob, was a tall man with sleek blond hair and a pointed pale face.

The second man turned at the sound of our footsteps. Breaking off mid-conversation, his cold grey eyes narrowed and fixed on my brother, then me. And I glared back with all the hate and fury that I had in me. My instincts screamed at me to blast the serpent with my wand. My heart roared for me to inflict horrible pain upon him. My mind quietly began calculating how best to kill him.

But in a different portion of my brain, I couldn't help but compare father and son.

Their faces were both pointed and very refined, but the lines and contours of Draco's face were softer, gentler. The color of their hair was identical, but where Lucius's hair was fine and pin straight, his son's was thick and had a tendency to fluff up more. Draco's skin looked healthier than his father's did, not quite so pasty. But the biggest difference was in their eyes. Lucius Malfoy's eyes reminded me of cold hard iron. Flat. Cruel. Snakelike. Draco's were like a kaleidoscope of grays, silvers, even undertones of blue. They could look like mercury, or they could look like storm clouds, or silver like a lake bathed in moonlight. They were always so full of emotion. Nothing like the flat hatred and cruelty that I could see in his father's eyes.

"Well, well, well... Patronus Potters..." Lucius said cooly, his voice slicking across the space like oil on a frypan. My rage grew exponentially. I'd last heard that voice as it was jeering in a dark graveyard while Voldemort had been torturing Harry. I'd last seen those cold eyes through the slits of a Death Eater's mask. I'd last heard about this man from Blaise, relaying to me what had transpired when Draco arrived home the previous June. How dare this man look me in the face?

"The Minister was just telling me about your lucky escape." drawled Mr Malfoy. "Quite astonishing, the way the pair of you continue to wriggle out of very tight holes... _Snakelike,_ in fact..."

I blatantly ignored the warning in the way that Mr Weasley gripped my shoulder.

"If anyone's snakelike around here, Lucius, it's you. After all, Harry and I were only charged with underaged magic." I said cooly, narrowing my eyes at him. "You on the other hand, managed to slither your way out of charges of, oh what was it? Right, yes, I remember. Treason, murder, espionage, and crimes against humanity wasn't it? Very impressive, _very_ snakelike."

His dark grey eyes narrowed dangerously. "Watch your tone, girl."

I sneered, "Make me, Death Eater."

"Lyra that's enough." said Mr Weasley sharply.

Lucius Malfoy glared at me, but I stood my ground. After a moment he scoffed, and spoke to the Minister. "Shall we continue our business in your office then, Minister?"

"Certainly," said Fudge, turning his back to Mr Weasley, Harry, and I. "This way, Lucius."

They strode off together, talking in low voices. Mr Weasley did not let go of my shoulder until they had disappeared into the hallway containing the lifts.

"What was _he_ doing here?" Harry asked.

"The Malfoy family has owned a large network of apothecaries for generations now. And any business of magnitude is required to have it's head office here in the Ministry." Mr Weasley responded tightly before starting to walk once more Harry quickly followed after him. I took a deep breath before doing the same. "Though any business he has with the Minister will be about gold."

I never got to hear the rest of the conversation. As we passed the still-ajar door to what must have been Lucius's office, something covered my mouth and dragged me into the dimly lit office.

* * *

><p>"I'm not a gambler, and even if I was, my mother's life is not something I'd use to bet." I said, suddenly feeling exhausted. That was probably how Blaise's next question caught me off guard.<p>

"And Lyra's affection is?" I looked back at him, unable to find a response. The Italian descended wizard shrugged at my expression, picking his book back up. "Food for thought."

Looking away from him, I let my head fall back into my hands. I stared unseeingly at the glass of firewhiskey Blaise had poured me. My mind felt like a whirlwind had gone through it, mixing around what I knew and leaving me a confused mess. The only thoughts that had remained unjumbled and at the forefront of my mind were thus: I needed to protect my mother. I could not lose Lyra. I loved them both differently, but the fact remained that I loved them both.

Lyra. Lyra Lark Potter. The forbidden fruit that I had coveted. The one thing I had wanted solely for myself. The one thing I had never bothered to calculate into the grand scheme of things. All I had ever thought about was how incredible she was. How beautiful. How strong. How badly I wanted her. How badly I came to need her. Never had I calculated how stupid I was being.

Never had I considered outright defying my father.

Taking a deep breath, I made a decision. Standing up, I took the glass that Blaise had given me, downed it in one, relishing the burn of the whiskey, and then walked straight to the fireplace.

As I had a thousand times before, I took a handful of Floo powder and threw it into the orange flames, turning them an emerald color. Stepping in, I shouted the name of my home, and then was whisked off from where I stood.

I came back out in the grate in the drawing room, where my father was currently placing something back on one of the shelves. As I had done a thousand times this summer, I calmly slipped a mask over my hate for the man.

"Not yet off to the Ministry then, father?" I asked calmly.

"Not just yet. I needed to get something from my study before I did." he responded. I hid my scoff. Probably more blood money to give the minister. Lucius cleared his throat, recapturing my immediate attention. "As I recall, weren't you supposed to be having tea with young Mr Zabini today?"

I put on an easy and charming father-pleasing smile. "I was meant to, but after arriving I remembered that you'd said something to mother at dinner last night about how you needed someone to go over last month's ledgers with you. Am I wrong?"

My father eyed me with some suspicion, his cane gripped in his hand. "I assume you mean to assist me in that?"

"If you would like, father."

He nodded in approval, which made me feel slimy. "Very well. Though I'd recommend a different set of robes." his eyes traveled down to my very unprofessional garb.

I straightened. "At once."

I hurried to leave the room, but I was stopped at the door by Lucius clearing his throat. Turning, I saw that his expression remained somewhat pleasant. "Draco, you would do well to remember; if this is another farce to mark our name, then you know the consequences."

I was suddenly very aware of how he was leaning on his cane. I hid my instilled fear and smiled politely at him. "I wouldn't dream of it, father."

After that veiled threat, I darted into the foyer and up the stairs to the eastern wing, where my room resided. It didn't take me long to change into a pair of slacks and a set of robes. However, before I hurried back to the foyer, I hesitated. On the top of my dresser was a small oak box that had been carved intricately. My mother had bought it for me when I was a child. It was where I kept several of my more important trinkets. A necklace my mother had once given me, the Malfoy ring, the engagement ring that I was one day to give a bride of my choosing, a small crystal that would glow if left in the moonlight, my dragon claw necklace, on the rare occasion that I took it off. And Lyra's birthday present.

Lyra's birthday had been more than a week ago, and I hadn't been able to send her her gift. I felt terrible for it. If my plan worked out, then there was every possibility that I would see her today before or after her trial. But if father found it, or if he spotted me giving it to her, then there would be hell to pay.

I went back an forth over it for several moments before stepping over and opening the box's lid, extracting a slim green velvet jewelry box. Shutting the treasure box, I slipped the present into an inner pocket of my robes, and then hurried back to my father.

"Acceptable." he said, upon seeing my change in attire.

After that we Flooed to the Ministry and he had me wait in his office. Just like I'd told Blaise, he was off to talk with the Minister before the hearing. I did know that he had actual business to discuss with him afterwords though.

So I was left alone to go over the ledgers. The boring. Boring. Very very boring. Ledgers. This was the one thing that I really did not look forward to in inheriting Malfoy Apothecary. Going over numbers like this, I would really rather hire an accountant. I knew why my father wouldn't though, even if he would never outright say it. He used the Apothecary as a front for smuggling dark objects. He went over the ledgers himself so that no one but he could spot the irregularities in the shipping logs and manifests. The only time he had someone else go over them was to make sure that the numbers were consistent (except the shipping manifests).

With a bored sigh, I began flipping through the leather bound books, and taking notes as needed. About ten minutes later there was a disturbance outside the door, and I peeked out long enough to see many members of the Wizenagmot heading down the corridor. I frowned as I shut the door. There was no way the hearing was on this floor. I never got that lucky.

Resigning myself to asking Lucius when he returned, I sat back down in my seat, and returned to the ledgers. So far the only real progress that I had made was to rediscover how bloody awful my father was at arithmancy. It was a wonder that we had as much money as we did. But then, the Malfoy Apothecary had several branches and locations, so all the money we earned from it was definitely not something to sniff at. A miscalculation here or there wasn't going to topple the Malfoy fortune by any means.

A few more minutes passed by and my father made his reentrance. I looked up at him briefly.

"How did your meeting go, father?" I asked blandly, turning a page and pretending that I didn't actually care.

"It went adequately." he responded, sitting down at his desk. I noted with some jealousy that the chair he sat in looked at least mildly comfortable. The one I was in was stiff and felt as though it had been crafted or spelled to make the person sitting in it very much uncomfortable. Knowing how sadistic my father was, that very well could be true.

"So I saw that the Potter trial is to be held on this floor." I said, jotting down another few notes, numbers that needed to be corrected.

"It seems so." Lucius said stiffly, and I could feel him staring at me.

Having become a true performer over the years, I slid into a scornful attitude quite easily. "Here's hoping that they get shut up in Azkaban. Perhaps dear Aunt Bella could teach them to mind their manners. A pity she wouldn't have her wand."

I looked up at him out of the corner of my eye to see him smirking in approval. Again I felt slimy. "Indeed. It would do them well to have that brazen attitude of theirs stripped away. As for your lovely aunt, it truly is a shame that she was unable to avoid Azkaban."

I struggled not to glare at him. I hated Bellatrix almost more than I hated my father. Whenever my mother did something wrong or displeasing, my father had no trouble reminding her that he would have preferred to be betrothed to her eldest sister instead. He claimed that 'Bella' was more of a woman than my mother could ever be, that she would have been more valuable as a wife. It was just another way for him to demean my mother.

From what I understood, Bellatrix Lestrange was insane. She was cruel and monstrous. Voldemort's most avid and active follower. She tortured two people into babbling hospitalized insanity. Anyone who could stomach doing that to another living creature was someone who couldn't ever be half the woman my mother was. My mother was kind, gentle, elegant, she was how I had always imagined a queen would be. And for a long period of my childhood, I was convinced that she was. I had convinced myself that she was a beautiful queen, beloved by all her people, and I was her little prince. Father had been the evil king who prowled the castle, jealous of my mother's undeniable wonder.

I nodded in false agreement. "A shame indeed."

A few minutes passed by before my father spoke again. And even then it was simple business. I showed him the incorrectly added numbers, he glowered at me. He handed me another ledger, I concealed my boredom and went through it. My father filled out paperwork. An enchanted paper airplane flew in through the open window above the office door before landing on my father's desk. He stepped out for a few minutes, then came back.

If this wasn't a ploy to see my girlfriend, and if I didn't hate my father with all that I had, then I would have thought this to be a nice bit of father-son time. Idly, as I was adding up some more numbers, I imagined my future. Historically speaking, the Malfoy family had always been small. One or maybe two children, the first borns always being boys. I thought about myself years from now, sitting in this same office, a blond young boy with green eyes sitting in a much more comfortable chair than this one, as I sat behind the desk in an overstuffed leather armchair. There would be more light than the simple desk lamp, and there would be fewer ledgers involved. The scene in my head was certainly warmer than the one I was experiencing in reality.

My drifting thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps in the hallway. I looked up a the door and saw many shadows passing by the frosted glass window.

"It seems that the Minister has finished his business," said my father, standing up. "I'll be back in an hour or so."

With that, he swept from the room, though he wasn't even halfway out the door when I saw his oily smile slip onto his face.

"Cornelius," I heard him say in greeting, stepping further out into the hallway and shutting the door a little bit more. "how did it go?"

Immediately I got up from my chair and pressed myself to the wall to try and listen in better.

"Not so well, unfortunately." said the Minister, his voice dropping lower, as though he didn't want to be overheard. "The Potters came in with a self-defense story. Some tale about dementors attacking them. As if that would happen in a Muggle neighborhood of all places."

I felt a wash of relief and I let my head tilt back to rest against the wall, my eyes closed.

"And the rest of the Wizenagmot bought that?" my father asked incredulously. "Were you at least able to convict the girl of being an unregistered animagus?"

I stiffened as I strained my ears to hear the response. "Unfortunately not. As brilliant as your tip was, there wasn't enough time to check the facts. Both she and Dumbledore confirmed that the American Ministry has documentation. Their oversight of not putting her on the registry is moot."

"That girl is a menace she-" he stopped mid sentence and against the frosted glass, I saw him shift, turning around. Then he spoke very cooly. "Well, well, well... Patronus Potters..."

My heart jumped. This was the only opportunity I had to see Lyra before school and my father was about to ruin it.

"The Minister was just telling me about your lucky escape." he drawled. "Quite astonishing, the way the pair of you continue to wriggle out of very tight holes... _Snakelike,_ in fact..."

I sneered. Hypocrite. But then my heart jumped a second time at the next voice in the hallway. Sharp as a knife and as clear as a bell, her voice cut through the air.

"If anyone's snakelike around here, Lucius, it's you. After all, Harry and I were only charged with underaged magic." I said, her tone matching my father's perfectly. "You on the other hand, managed to slither your way out of charges of, oh what was it? Right, yes, I remember. Treason, murder, espionage, and crimes against humanity wasn't it? Very impressive, _very_ snakelike."

My eyes widened. Merlin she was brilliant. Even if you didn't know my father, it still took guts and more than a little tenacity to stand up to him. I certainly had never said something so bold to him. If I had then I'd be dead.

"Watch your tone, girl." my father said dangerously.

Lyra sneered at him, "Make me, Death Eater."

"Lyra that's enough." said a new voice sharply. And I was glad that they did. That was an accusation, and had she pursued it, she would have escaped the frying pan only to land in the fire.

There were a few heartbeats of silence before my father spoke again. "Shall we continue our business in your office then, Minister?"

"Certainly," said Fudge, while I breathed a sigh of relief. "This way, Lucius."

The two of them walked off, and as soon as their shadows were gone from line of sight, I peered around the door and into the hallway. Lyra and her brother were standing with a tall red-haired man that I assumed was Mr Weasley. They were all glaring off in the direction my father and the Minister must have disappeared to.

Taking a closer look at my girlfriend I was shocked. What the bloody hell had she done to her hair? What were once long waves of onyx were now slightly puffy short locks that barely skimmed her chin. It didn't look bad, per say, but it was _not_ what I was expecting. When did that even happen? Forcing myself to ignore this change, I looked at the rest of her, and was thankfully greeted by her typical color and dress palette. Burgundy-purple robes over a dark grey shirt and black jeans. At least some things hadn't changed.

Harry said something, to which Mr Weasley responded and began walking forward. Harry quickly matched pace, but Lyra followed a few stepped behind.

As they neared my father's office door, I made a snap decision. It wasn't quite as clean or as safe as 'accidentally' bumping into her in the hallway, but it had many more merits.

As Lyra began to walk past, I darted forward, placing a hand over her mouth and wrapping my arm around her waist as I quickly pulled her into the office.

* * *

><p>I struggled a bit before my attacker pinned me against something, using their hands to hold my wrists together above my head and pressing their body against mine to pin me.<p>

"Lyra, calm down, it's me!" hissed an achingly familiar voice.

I stopped struggling and blinked several times before my eyes adjusted to the dim light coming from the desk lamp.

The person who had pinned me to the wall was a younger, softer, warmer version of the man I had just encountered. In the dark lighting all I could really see was the brightness of his hair, and the contours of his face, but I could easily tell he was smiling widely.

"Dragon," I breathed.

His body slackened so that I was no longer sandwiched between it and he wall, and his hands released my arms as he instead used his arms to hug me to him. He buried his face into the side of my neck. "I've missed you so much."

I hugged him back tightly. "I've missed you too Dragon."

He looked up at me and I took the opportunity to press my lips against his. A heartbeat later, he was pressing me back against the wall for a second time, though for an entirely different reason. He kissed me back fiercely for all of a few moments before pulling away.

"We don't have a lot of time." he said urgently. "I just needed to see you."

I lifted a hand and brushed a thumb across his cheek. "I'm glad you were able to."

He stepped back and fumbled with his robes before extracting a long velvet box. "I've got your birthday present."

Lifting my eyebrows at him, I took it, and snapped open the gift. My eyes widened. Inside it was a necklace. It was a beautiful celtic knot, with an olive green gem fitted into the center of it, on a silver chain.

"It's gorgeous." I said, looking back up at him.

"I'm sorry it's late." he said.

I shrugged. "Who cares about if it's late. I still love it. Thank you."

He kissed me again briefly, then glanced at his watch. "I hate to say it but you should go."

I nodded sadly. "Right."

Side stepping him I walked to the door before looking back at him. "I'll send you a letter tonight. I love you."

"I love you too." he said, his eyes sad as I morphed.

I gave him a little nod, and then darted into the hallway and after my brother and Mr Weasley. Finding them waiting for the lift, and finding that my absence hadn't been noticed, I couldn't even bring myself to feel offended. I morphed back into a human as we entered the lift, surprised to find that it wasn't packed as it had been on our way up here.

Taking out Draco's necklace again, I removed it from it's velvet box. Slipping the box into the pocket of my robe, I reached up to clasp the chain around my neck. As I did, my elbow lightly bumped into Harry. He turned his head to look at me and frowned.

"Where did that come from?" he asked, eyeing the pendant.

I smiled conspiratorially at him as I struggled with the clasp. "Never you mind. But, if you wouldn't mind, could you -?"

He rolled his eyes and nodded. "Turn around."

I did so and tilted my head forward as my brother took the chain in his hands and quickly fastened the two ends together. "I didn't see him at the hearing. I guess he was probably in his father's office, wasn't he?"

I stiffened a bit, but relaxed. Harry wasn't a moron, and with the facts that he had, even he could connect the dots to find out where something like this would randomly appear from. I smiled softly as I turned back around to face him. "Yeah, he was."

Harry rolled his eyes and shook his head.


	60. The remainder

"I knew it!" yelled Ron punching the air. "You guys always get away with stuff!"

"They were bound to clear you." said Theo, grinning as he wrapped an arm around his girlfriend.

Hermione, who had looked positively faint with anxiety when Harry and I had walked in, nodded shakily. "There was no case against you, none at all..."

"Everyone seems quite relieved, though," I said, smirking.

Harry nodded in amused agreement. "Especially when you consider that you all knew we'd get off.."

Mrs Weasley was wiping her face on her apron, and Fred, George, Sara, and Ginny were doing a kind of war dance to a chant that went: _"They got off, they got off, they got off, they got off -"_

"Enough, settle down!" shouted Mr Weasley, though he was smiling too. "Listen, Sirius, Lucius Malfoy was at the Ministry -"

"What?" said Sirius sharply.

_"__They got off, they got off, they got off -"_

"Be quiet, you four! Yes, we saw him talking to Fudge on level nine, then they went up to Fudge's office together. Dumbledore ought to know."

"Absolutely." said Sirius. "We'll tell him, don't worry."

"Well, I'd better go, there's a vomiting toilet waiting for me. Molly, I'll be late, I'm covering for Tonks, but Kingsley might be dropping by for dinner -"

_"__They got off, they got off, they got off -"_

"That's enough - Fred - George - Ginny - Sara!" said Mrs Weasley as her husband left the kitchen "Lyra dear, come and sit down, have some lunch, you didn't eat any breakfast..."

Ron, Hermione, and Theo sat themselves down across from Harry and I looking happier than they had done since we had first arrived at Grimauld Place, and my feeling of giddy relief, which had already been increased by my brief interlude in Lucius Malfoy's office, doubled. The gloomy house seemed warmer and more welcoming all of a sudden.

"'Course Dumbledore was there, and after that there was no way they were going to convict you." said Ron happily, dishing out mounds of mashed potatoes onto everyone's plates.

"Yeah, between him and Lyra, they did the heavy lifting on that part." Harry said before turning to me. "I didn't realize you knew so much about magical law."

"I don't, but Hermione's been researching it for us non-stop. _And_ she's my roommate." I chuckled. "As for Dumbledore, great though he may have been, I wish he would have talked to us. Or at least _looked _ at us, you know?"

And then there was a horrible burning coming from my shoulder that my hand shot up to apply pressure to the pain. At exactly the same time, Harry clapped his hand to his forehead with a grimace.

"What's up?" Theo asked, looking alarmed.

"Scar," Harry mumbled, sharing an uncomfortable look with me. "But it's nothing..."

I nodded grimly. "Happens all the time now..."

None of the others had noticed anything. All of them were now helping themselves to the food and gloating over our narrow escape; Fred, George, Sara, and Ginny were still singing. Theo looked anxious but didn't pry.

_"__THEY GOT OFF, THEY GOT OFF, THEY GOT OFF -"_

"SHUT UP!" roared Mrs Weasley.

* * *

><p>The next time that I saw Draco, he had a livid bruise across his cheekbone, and a shit-eating grin across the rest of his face. I'd looked at him calmly for a moment before chuckling at him. "Lyra got off, I assume?"<p>

The blond nodded his head, sly grin still in place. "Father was positively boiling by the time we got home from the Ministry."

I nodded understandingly. "And promptly took it out on you, it seems."

Draco shrugged. "No amount of blasting hexes are about to put me in a bad mood. By the way, did you know about Lyra cutting her hair, or were you left in the dark as well?"

I stared at him, aghast. "A Blasting Hex? You're joking! What did you hit?"

Draco shrugged. "The wall of the foyer. I asked Dobby to get me a pain-relieving potion, so I'm fine. But really, did you know about her haircut?"

"I do not care about your girlfriend's stupid change in hair style!" I shouted, grabbing my best mate my the arm and dragging him to the couch. "Being blasted into a wall can seriously injure you, as you well know! Last time it happened, your mother had to take you to St Mungo's! Your pelvis was completely out of line!"

Draco snorted, but sat down all the same. "Believe me, it's not. It's a little hard to breath and I've got maybe two broken ribs. I'll probably have a huge bruise on my back from where I hit, but that's all."

I rolled my eyes at him. "You're such an idiot."

He chuckled. "Who's more of an idiot? The idiot, or the idiot who plays nurse?"

I glared at him. "The only reason I can fix you up as well as I do is because you and Theo seem to think that bumbling into my house after getting beaten up is a good idea. The number of times I've had to patch the pair of you up or drag you to the hospital, I could qualify for a healer's license without even bothering to try."

"Are you going to keep grumbling on like some first year Hufflepuff girl, or are you going to get me one of your potions?" Draco snarked.

I huffed and lifted my chin. "Quincy!"

A soft '_pop_' signaled the appearance of my house elf. He was a tiny thing, wearing a green flannel pillowcase with a belt of rough braided twine around his waist. In the winter, he would wear a sort of sock hat with a bell on it. I _think_ I made it for him when I was a little kid.

"Yes, Master Blaise?" he squeaked cheerfully.

"Go get a Wiggenweld Potion for Draco." I said, sitting down with a sigh. "And bring us both some tea, while you're at it."

The elf gave me a salute and nodded dutifully. "Quincy is going and getting it, Master! Quincy will be swift, he will!"

Draco blinked dully at the servant as it vanished into a puff of smoke. "Your house elf is weird."

"You tell me this every time you see him." I said. "And if you mention Lyra's hair again, I'll withhold the potion from you."

"I wasn't going to say anything!" Draco defended.

I tried not to roll my eyes again. "So I'm assuming that you saw her?"

"Dragged her into father's office, actually."

I looked over at him with mild concern, then realized that it probably was the reason for the smile he was still wearing. "I guess it's safe to assume that Lucius wasn't there?"

"Nope. He was off manipulating the Minister again. I took the opportunity to snag Lyra." Draco said happily. "Finally gave her her birthday present, too."

I snorted. "You make fun of me for sounding like a Hufflepuff, but _you_, my friend, sound like a besotted twit."

He threw a pillow at me, glaring. "Shut it."

Just then, Quincy appeared carrying a large silver tray. He looked a little absurd, considering that he had to stretch his arms wide to grip the handles on the ends of it. On the tray was a small plate of biscuits, a glass vial of orange-red potion, and one of my favorite Japanese cast iron teapots, and the accompanying polished iron cups. One of the many gifts my mother had brought back from one of her many trips around the world trying to trap a new husband. She knew that I liked tea, so for a long time, that was all she would bring, teacups, teapots, needlessly ornate teaspoons, full tea sets, exotic tea for me to try, a set to make matcha green tea, it was endless. There was an entire glass china cabinet filled with them. Something from every country she visited, as though it could make me feel better about her leaving me behind. I had my favorites, and over time, Quincy had figured them out, and unless they were all in need of cleaning, he would use them exclusively.

The elf scurried to place the tray on the coffee table in front of us before giving me a military salute. "Will Master Blaise be needing anything else from Quincy?"

I shook my head. "Not right now."

He gave me a sharp nod, and then turned to Draco, who was reaching for the wiggenweld potion. "Is Master Draco needing anything from Quincy?"

Draco blinked at the elf, then turned suspicious eyes on the teapot, and the steam rising from the spout. "What kind of tea did you bring?"

Quincy lowered his hand and stood at attention, puffing out his small chest a little. "Quincy is bringing the young masters one of Master Blaise's favorite teas, the spiced mandarin oolong tea! Quincy is making extra sures that the tea is not being over-steeped! Quincy is making it perfection, sir!"

"Thanks for that," Draco said, eyeing the elf with unease. "You can leave now."

"Yes sir! Always a pleasure to be serving you sir!" and with a pop, he was gone.

"Your elf is a freak."

I rolled my eyes. "If you wouldn't ask him questions like that, you wouldn't get those kinds of answers. And you know what? He's _my_ elf. And I happen to like him."

"Whatever." Draco said, downing the healing potion. "So this oolong tea... It any good?"

I nodded, reaching to pour some. The liquid that came out of the pot was a blood-orange color, and gave off a citrus aroma. "Mother brought it back a few years ago from Asia. I liked it, so I took up a bi-monthly subscription for it."

"Don't you have like, _seven_ tea subscriptions?" Draco said, taking the cup I offered him.

I chuckled. "Actually, I have nine, though five of them are only in the summer. The other four, Quincy brings me at school."

"Tea-obsessed freak." Draco mumbled, eyeing his cup.

I smirked at him. "Hey, who was the one who recommended that calming herbal blend for your mother?"

"_One_ benefit of your habit. But you and my mother can keep your tea fetishes to yourselves. It's bad enough that I have to deal with it here, and now you're recommending exotic infused teas to my mum, and I'm starting to have to deal with it at home, too." Draco said. "What's in this one anyway?"

I rolled my eyes and took a brief sip from my own cup. "It's got an even balance of bright citrus and spices. Hibiscus, apple, orange, ginger, pepper, and a bunch of other stuff. It's really good, actually. And as far as my 'tea fetish' goes, you realize that your darling girlfriend has one too, right?"

"Not really, she likes jasmine oolong, and that's about it. _You_ on the other hand, would drink every tea presented to you and write up a review on each one, giving the chance."

I shrugged. "Probably."

Draco drank from his own cup then paused after swallowing, then glared at me and kept drinking. I smiled to myself, knowing he'd never admit to liking it. Draco was more the type to enjoy sampling his father's wine cellar, and while I'd gladly join him, I enjoyed my tea just as much.

* * *

><p>The next several days were relatively calm. Mrs Weasley still had us cleaning, which had Ron still complaining. He'd made the mistake of commenting that he felt like a house elf, and the result was him being on the receiving end of Hermione's rants about her S.P.E.W. idea. I noted that Theo was careful to remain neutral about the affair, telling me that evening that he really thought she was making a big fuss over nothing, but it made him happy to see her so motivated, so he wouldn't say anything to her.<p>

As the holiday drew closer and closer to it's end, I found myself daydreaming more and more about Hogwarts, and about my friends. It was a double edged sword, however, my circle of friends had been neatly cleaved in half, with Draco and Blaise forced to the side opposite Theo and I. Blaise had written me much earlier in the summer to tell me that he would be 'siding' with Draco in our publicly assumed breakup, so that my boyfriend would have someone there for him beyond closed doors. I'd agreed with him. Blaise was a great friend, but Draco needed him more. Theo and I would probably end up spending much of our time in the Gryffindor common room with Harry and his housemates, which was a very far cry from the evenings spent around the fireplace in our own common room. There would be no more of those, of Theo and Draco playing chess as I nodded off, and as Blaise read a book. Of me correcting Blaise's potions homework as Theo groaned over his Ancient Runes essays. No more evenings morphed and curled up on Draco's lap in his favorite leather armchair by the underwater-window.

And the war hadn't even kicked into high gear yet.

The saving grace for our group was that despite what a bastard as Lucius Malfoy was, the fact remained that he was a pampered and privileged bastard. And as such, his son was to be treated accordingly. As a governor for the school, as well as a rich pillock, he had secured private rooms for Draco this year, and until he graduated in three years. Draco had told me about this about midway through the summer, and about two days after my hearing, he had suggested it as a meeting spot for the four of us behind closed doors. (Though it didn't take much to figure that he mostly meant us.)

On the last day of the holidays, I was neatly packing away my cleaned cloths into my trunk when Sara came into our bedroom with a few envelopes.

"Booklists finally got here," she said, tossing one onto my bed before handing out the other two to Hermione and Ginny.

"I was starting to think they'd forgotten, they're really late this year." said Ginny, pulling out her letter. "Three new ones for me. _Standard book of Spells, Grade 4, Spellman's Syllabary Volume 2, _and some book called _Defensive Magical Theor-_"

Ginny was interrupted by Hermione making a choking sound, followed by excited jumping up and down. We all stared at her as she grinned like a crazy person until she calmed down enough to show us what the cause of it was.

"Look!" she said, opening her hand to show us a gleaming pin. Edged in gold, and set against a background of scarlet, was the image of the Gryffindor lion crouched behind a large embossed capital P. Easily recognizable as a Hogwarts Prefect badge.

I raised an eyebrow. "I'd forgotten that prefects were picked from the returning fifth years. Though I don't think any of us are surprised that you got picked for it, as dedicated to schoolwork as you are."

Sara nodded in agreement. "No doubt, though you're nearly the same way, Lyra. Did you get one too?"

I snorted and shook my head, unceremoniously dumping my letter onto my bed. "Prefects are picked by a student's head of house. After all the shit I've given our _lovely_ Potions Master, it would have had to come down as an oder from Dumbledore for me to get a badge. Besides that, I'm a transfer student, technically. No, it's probably Parkinson who's got that particular honor. Though I pity any first year who irritates her, now that she's got the ability to give detentions."

Ginny snickered in agreement before looking back at Hermione. "Who do you think got the boy's position?"

Hermione looked up, and her eyes brightened before she shot from the room. I rolled my eyes an answered for her. "Probably Harry."

The three of us got up and walked patiently after her. By the time we got onto the landing with the boys' rooms, the door to the room Harry stayed in was already open, and Hermione was inside. When we walked in, it was to catch the tail end of an unexpected sentence.

"Ron's prefect, not me,"

"_Ron_?" asked Ginny, her jaw dropping.

"Are you sure?" asked Hermione in much the same tone. "I mean -"

She turned red as Ron looked at her very defiantly. "It's my name on the letter."

"I..." said Hermione, looking thoroughly bewildered. "I...well...wow! Well done, Ron! That's really -"

"Unexpected," said George.

"No," said Hermione, blushing more than ever. "no, it's not... Ron's done loads of stuff... He's really..."

Mrs Weasley interrupted her by walking in with a pile of freshly laundered robes.

"Remus said that the booklists had come at last," she said, glancing around the room at us as she made her way over to Ron's bed and began sorting the robes into three piles. "If you give them to me, I'll take them over to Diagon Alley this afternoon to get your books while you finish packing. Ron, I'll have to get you more pajamas, these are at least six inches too short. I can't believe how fast you're growing... What color would you like?"

"Get him red and gold to match his badge," said Theo, smirking.

"Match his what?" said Mrs Weasley absently.

"His _badge_." said Fred, with the air of getting the worst over quickly. "His lovely shiny new _prefect's badge._"

Fred's words took a moment to permeate Mrs Weasley's pajama preoccupation.

"His...but...Ron, you're not...?"

Ron held up his badge.

Mrs Weasley let out a shriek that made me wince. "I don't believe it! I don't believe it! Oh, Ron, how wonderful! A prefect! That's everyone in the family!"

"What're Fred and I, next-door neighbors?" asked George indignantly as his mother pushed him aside and flung her arms around her youngest son.

"Wait until your father hears! Ron, I'm so proud of you, what wonderful news, you could end up Head Boy just like Bill and Percy, it's the first step! Oh, what a thing to happen in the middle of all this worry, I'm just thrilled, oh _Ronnie -_"

Fred and George were both making loud retching sounds behind her back but Mrs Weasley didn't seem to notice. She continued to fuss over Ron, while everyone looked on. I wasn't paying attention though, I kept my eyes on my brother.

Harry had this very blank look on his face, like he wasn't sure what to think of this development, though I saw his eyes flash with jealousy as he watched his best friend be fussed over by his mother.

But by the time that the room had mostly emptied, leaving only Harry, Hermione, Theo, Sara, and I, I noticed that he wouldn't look at any of us. He turned away and grabbed his pile of laundry and took it to his trunk.

"Harry?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"Well done," said Harry, in a very hearty tone that didn't sound like him at all, and that made me flinch. "Brilliant. Prefect. Great."

"Thanks," said Hermione. "Erm - Harry - could I borrow Hedwig so I can tell Mum and Dad? They'll be really pleased - I mean, prefect is something they can understand -"

"Yeah, no problem," said Harry, still in that horrible hearty voice that didn't belong to him. "Take her!"

As Hermione crossed to the dresser to call the owl down, Harry leaned over his trunk to rummage through it. As she left the room, I shot Theo and Sara a look. They took my hint and followed her out. I shut the door quietly behind them.

Harry remained with his head buried in his trunk for a moment more before he stood up and went to sit on his bed. He wouldn't look a me, and instead chose to stare unseeingly at the wardrobe. I sighed and walked over to the abandoned pile of cloths. Shutting the trunk, I set about folding and organizing the cloths into smaller, specified piles before I could pack them away.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked quietly after a moment.

Harry didn't say anything for several minutes. And by the time he did, I was opening the trunk again to put the cloths in it.

"I'd forgotten about the prefects being chosen this year." he said quietly. "But if I had..."

"What do you think you would have expected?" I asked carefully, stacking his books in the trunk a little more neatly so that they wouldn't get covered by his cloths.

There was a pause before he responded to me, in a voice that was a little hoarse. "Not this."

I turned my head and looked at him expectantly.

"If I'd remembered the badge was on it's way I would have thought it was coming to me, not Ron." He said, his face slowly scrunching up. "Does that make me arrogant? That I think I'm better than Ron?"

He looked like he would start to cry if he went on like this. Abandoning the cloths beside the trunk, I got up to sit beside him, draping one arm around his shoulders.

"It doesn't." I said gently. "You've gotten a lot of attention throughout your time at Hogwarts. You've done a lot of great things. You're not outside your rights to expect the position."

"But why did they pick Ron, not me? I've done loads more than Ron and Hermione!" Harry protested.

I shrugged and answered honestly. "I couldn't tell you, Harry. But look at it this way: you may have been through more than they have, but if that was what the prerequisites of being a prefect were, then there wouldn't be quite so many."

"No one in their right mind would make Ron a prefect though!" Harry protested hotly, then immediately looked ashamed of himself.

I frowned and leaned my head on his shoulder. "Maybe, maybe not. But, Harry, he's your best mate. And are you really going to sit and sulk just because he has a badge and you don't? Ron's never beaten you at anything before now, right? Should you really ruin this for him?"

Harry looked over at me for a moment, then sighed. "I suppose not."

I smiled at him, and then we were quiet for a few more moments. When Harry broke the silence, it was still about Ron, but it was quieter, and with a deeper sadness.

"Do you think, if things were normal, and if I had made prefect, do you think _our_ mum would have been that happy?" he asked, his voice soft.

My face screwed up a little, and my arm around his shoulder hugged him a little more tightly. "I'd like to think so. She and dad were Head Boy and Girl. I've no doubt that they would have both been proud."

There was a longer silence, and then Harry admitted something that made my heart ache for him. "I hated Dudley for a long time, when I was little. Aunt Petunia never gave me that kind of praise."

I frowned, and felt a tear drop from one of my eyes. Taking a deep breath, I responded. "They probably never even hugged you, did they?"

"No."

I turned my face into his shoulder to try and keep from crying. "It sounds so stupid, but it's really more important than people think it is. Physical contact and affection for a little kid. I was a lot luckier than you in that respect. And I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't be," Harry said quietly. "It's not your fault. It was just what happened."

There was a pause, and then a thought occurred to me. "I still talk to my foster parents, you know."

My brother nodded. "I heard Sirius mention that they were helping the order, just like Sara's parents."

"I didn't know that until after we got here, but it doesn't surprise me." I paused, then went on. "They'd like to meet you, you know. And I know they'd treat you like a son. You would like them."

He was quiet for a moment before he spoke. "They're not our parents."

"I know," I said, shaking my head a bit. "I always knew they weren't my real parents. I could remember James and Lilly, our Mum and Dad. My memories were as beautiful as they were horrible."

"What were they like?" Harry's voice sounded a little raw, and I knew he didn't mean my foster family.

"I don't know." I said honestly. "My memories aren't very clear, except for...what happened."

"Then how do you remember them?"

I smiled sadly. "I remember them dancing in the living room. I remember the way Mum's laugh sounded, and the way Dad would smile at us. I remember them playing with us. I remember Dad chasing you around when you got a toy broomstick. I remember that mum wouldn't let me up on the counter when she was cooking, but she would let me sit on her shoulder. I remember little things. Really little beautiful things."

"I wish I could." he murmured thickly.

I turned to the side and hugged him close, his arms wrapping up around me as he clung to me tightly.

"I wish you could too." I whispered, my tears leaking out and dripping onto his shirt.

There was another long pause, and then as I felt his own teardrops hit my shoulder, Harry spoke again. And he said something I didn't expect at all.

"I love you, sister."

I gripped the back of his shirt in my fists, and tried not to sob. "I love you too, brother."


End file.
